


Dreaming  of a December Wedding

by greywilde



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Poe Dameron/Kaydel Ko Konnix, Background Rose Tico/Finn Storm, Banter, Brief moment of angst, Christmas, Discussion of future kids, Don’t take this too seriously, Drinking, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Holidays, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, Inspired by a Hallmark Movie, Mutual Pining, Nipple Play, No Pregnancy, Oral Sex, Out Hallmarking Hallmark, Past Poe Dameron/Rey, Rating is for later, Romance, Sex, Smut, Weddings, explicit content only at the end of chapter ten, fake engagement, holiday fluff, innuendos, it’s so much fluff and fun, more tags to come, so many PNW references, they think the other one doesn’t like them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:35:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28220259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greywilde/pseuds/greywilde
Summary: A Reylo modern AU based on the Hallmark Christmas Movie, "A December Bride"Rey Jackson was supposed to marry Poe Dameron and have her dream December wedding - until he fell in love with her foster sister Kaydel. And it's all Ben Solo's fault.Now it's payback and he's her fake date to the wedding, but when Ben makes an impulsive announcement, it sets the stage for an elaborate holiday arrangement.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 284
Kudos: 493





	1. The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a fun and fluffy little fic complete with flirting and banter and a fake engagement for the holidays! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> There is a flashback scene written in past tense under the May 2020 heading (I also put a single * at the end to mark the end of that section). The rest of the story takes place in a Covid free December 2020 - with an epilogue in December 2021.
> 
> Also, as a disclaimer, I write fanfic for fun. I don’t like to stress over my writing and I don’t use a beta, so what you see is what you get. The plot of this fic is shamelessly ripped from a Hallmark movie and while I did try and fill in a few plot holes that the film doesn’t - I will likely miss some. Unlike other stories I’ve written, this is meant to be a silly little bit of fluff and fun and banter - nothing is too deep or thought out here, so keep that in mind as you read. I’m just writing this for a bit of holiday fun in my spare time 💛 
> 
> Updates will happen randomly. I have the second chapter ready to go, and the third is in progress but I still have another WIP and lots of commitments around Christmas so I will post when I can. Thanks for understanding!

* * *

  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rey mumbles under her breath.

Her roommate, and best friend, Rose Tico looks up at her in amusement. “Everything okay?” 

Setting her phone down she shakes her head. “Amilyn just texted, again, to ask if I was coming on Saturday. You’d think they would’ve gotten the message when I didn't send back an RSVP.” 

“You didn’t send your RSVP back?” 

“Nope,” Rey replies, drawing out the word before she pops the _p_ at the end. “I didn’t even open it.” 

“But you didn’t throw it away.” Rose looks at her knowingly. 

Rey opens the drawer beside her where they keep all the random odds and ends they don’t have another place for and digs through the dried out sharpies and user manuals for kitchen gadgets that never get used before finding the cream envelope with _Miss Rey Jackson and Guest_ written on the back in elegant calligraphy with gold ink. 

“Here,” Rey says, sliding the wedding invitation across the marble countertop. 

“Can I open it?” Rose asks, grabbing for the envelope.

She sighs and nods. “Fill out the RSVP card for me too. I’m still not going.” 

Rose gleefully tears into the paper, pulling out a thick cardstock square accented with a gold lace wrap and blue ribbon. “They sure didn’t skimp on these,” she comments before she begins to read. “Poe Dameron and Kaydel Connix invite you to share in the joy of their wedding, Saturday the fifth of December, blah blah blah.” 

“Literally a week before I hoped to have our wedding.” Rey scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “I haven’t said a word to either of them since everything happened. It’s ridiculous to think I’d want to attend their wedding, right?” 

Her ex-fiancé Poe had proposed that past April after nearly a year together and Rey had immediately started planning the December wedding she’d always dreamt of having. It should have been her first clue that something was up when he began suggesting they push the date back and insisting it was too soon. 

Apparently, it wasn’t too soon to marry Kaydel though. 

“You have every reason not to attend,” Rose agrees, breaking her out of her thoughts. “But Kaydel is like your sister.” 

Rey rolls her eyes and frowns. “Sisters don’t steal your fiancé and marry them seven months later.” 

  
  


_May 2020_

Light music and chatter filled the air around her as Rey leaned awkwardly against the pub table and watched as her fiancé Poe Dameron waved and smiled across the room. He’d insisted on bringing her along to another party thrown by some acquaintance she’d never met, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he disappeared into another conversation and she was on her own. 

“Babe, you remember my old friend Ben?” Poe motioned towards the tall dark-haired man approaching them. “He was at the bar with me the night we met.”

Rey smiled in recognition. “Of course,” she replied. “It’s not easy to forget someone who got up and sang Unbreak My Heart for karaoke.” 

“To be fair, I’d just gotten dumped by my long term girlfriend,” Ben grinned in response. “It’s nice to see you again, Rey.”

“Rey?” A familiar voice sounded from behind her. Spinning around she came face to face with her former foster sister Kaydel. 

“Holy shit, Kaydel!” Rey engulfed the other girl in a hug. “What are you doing here? I thought you were still in California?” 

Kaydel squeezed her as they parted. “I got a job with Resistance Airlines as a flight attendant and I’m based out of Seattle, one of my new co-workers brought me along.” 

“Poe works for them as a pilot,” Ben added. “You two should talk sometime! I bet he has all sorts of stories he can share.” 

Rey watched as Kaydel instantly eyed her fiancé up and down and noticed how Poe blushed at the attention. 

“I’d really like that,” Kaydel replied coyly. “Can I get your number?” 

“Oh, uh, sure,” Poe replied as Kaydel handed him her phone. 

Glaring at Ben, Rey couldn’t believe what was happening in front of her as Poe returned the phone to Kaydel with one of his charming smiles. 

“Kay, I don’t believe you’ve met Poe, my fiancé,” she introduced them. 

Kaydel’s face dropped briefly before it was replaced with a forced smile. “Your fiancé? I had no idea you were engaged, Rey! You never share anything with me anymore. Congratulations! When is the wedding?” 

“We don’t know,” Poe answered.

At the same time, Rey replied, “December.” 

An awkward silence descended over the group. “Sounds like there’s a lot of planning to do,” Kaydel smirked. “If you all don’t mind, I see my friend over there and I should go say hi. Rey, I’m sure I’ll see you at Amilyn’s, and Poe, I look forward to working with you and hearing more about the company.” 

She flounced off with a wink and a wave. Rey rounded on the two men as soon as she was out of earshot. 

“What was that?” 

“What was what, babe?” Poe asked nonchalantly. 

Rey groaned and thrust one hand out towards Ben. “Your friend over here thinks that it's totally acceptable to set you up with other women when you’re engaged, that’s what’s up.” 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Ben replied defensively. “I was not trying to set them up, she mentioned that she got a job working for the same company as Poe, I thought they might want to chat about it for a minute. I did not suggest sharing numbers!” 

She glared at him and let out a huff of frustration. Ben had never approved of her relationship with Poe, but she didn’t think he’d try and sabotage things between them. 

“Rey, babe, you have nothing to worry about,” Poe assured her. “She’s like your sister, right? Think of it like family helping out family.”

With a sigh, she nodded. “Right, like family.” 

The way Poe had looked at Kaydel certainly hadn’t been _like family_ , so it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise a week later when he suddenly broke off their engagement. The two of them started dating shortly after and were engaged within a month. 

It still stung. 

*

“Earth to Rey?” Rose waves her hand in front of her face. “Is everything alright?”

Rey nods her head. “It’s fine, I’m going to go lie down for a bit, take a little breather.” 

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Rose reaches across the counter and grabs her hand, squeezing it gently. 

“Thanks,” she replies softly. 

Entering her room, she grabs her air pods before putting them in her ears and turning on a calming playlist from the Spotify app on her phone. She lies back against her pillows and closes her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tries to forget about Poe and Kaydel and their wedding that she doesn’t want to attend. 

Easier said than done. 

Halfway through the third song, she’s interrupted by her ringtone. Rey glances at the screen and sees Amilyn’s name on the display. 

“Hey Amilyn,” she answers. 

“Rey, darling,” Amilyn’s voice comes through the other side of the phone. “How are you?” 

Rey makes a face. “I’ve been better.” 

A brief pause follows. “You’re ignoring my texts again.” It’s not a question and she knows what Amilyn is calling to talk with her about. 

“Do you really think I want to go? Why would they even want me there?” she questions. 

“You and Kaydel used to be so close,” Amilyn begins with a sigh. “I just figured the two of you would eventually put all of this behind you.”

Rey lets out a humorless bark of laughter. “She stole my fiancé, that’s not something I can easily forget, let alone forgive.” 

“What happened to the _‘Poe and I would have never worked out’_ attitude from our earlier conversations? I thought you were finally moving on from him.”

Amilyn was right, but at that moment it was easier to be stubborn. 

“It’s not that simple.”

“Just think about it, Rey, okay?” her foster mother asks after a moment. 

“I will,” she agrees. “I’m not making any promises though.” 

Amilyn changes the subject after that, asking Rey about her job and when she’s planning to come over for dinner again. After Rey hangs up the phone, she is no longer able to rest. Tossing her air pods back in the charging case, she wanders back into the living room to find her roommate watching TV. 

“Amilyn called,” she sighs. 

“And she still wants you to come to the wedding?” Rose guesses. 

Rey nods her head once and then shrugs. “I really don’t want to, but I kind of feel like I should.”

“What’s really holding you back?” her friend asks. “Because we both know you’ve been over Poe for a while.”

“Amilyn pointed out the same thing,” she sighs. “Honestly? It’s silly, but I wish I had a date. The only thing I hate worse than the idea of going to their wedding is going to their wedding alone.” 

Rose laughs. “Well, I’d go with you, but I’m probably not the type of date you were thinking of taking.”

“You’d be a hot date, Rosie,” Rey grins. 

“Of course I would,” Rose agrees. “Hey! What about our cute neighbor?” 

“Finn?” Rey questions. “The guy you have been in love with since the day we moved in and you nearly tripped over him in the hallway, that Finn?” 

Her friend shrugs. “He seems like the type of guy who would say yes.”

“And you wouldn’t mind?”

“You aren’t planning on falling in love with him are you?” Rose asks.

Rey giggles. “No, Rose, he’s all yours.” 

“Then you should ask him, and then talk about how amazing I am the whole time.” 

She thinks it over for a moment and decides it’s not a bad idea at all. 

“Alright, I’ll ask Finn.”

“And talk about me?”

“And talk about you.” 

Rose claps her hands. “Good thing I filled out the RSVP card to say you were going, then,” she grins. 

She runs into Finn in the hallway the next morning as they are both leaving for work. He stops and gives her a wide smile as she waves.

“I was hoping to talk to you today,” Rey says as they step onto the elevator together. “I have a favor to ask.”

“What’s up?” he looks at her curiously. 

“How do you feel about weddings? Particularly about being a guest at a wedding?” 

Finn shrugs. “I mean, there are free food and drinks, right? Probably some dancing? I can dig it.” 

“Oh good, because I need a date for my former foster sister and ex-fiancé’s wedding this coming weekend.” 

“Former foster sister and ex-fiancé? I feel like there’s a story there,” Finn raises an eyebrow. 

Rey snorts. “Oh there definitely is, I’ll fill you in over drinks later,” she promises. “I just can’t show up alone, can you be my plus one, please?” 

“I’d love to be your plus one _and_ hear this story. Want to meet at Maz’s tonight?” He asks, referring to the hole in the wall pub just down the block. 

“Six o’clock?” she asks. “I’ll text Rose to join us.” 

Finn’s face instantly lights up at the mention of her roommate’s name. “Yeah, that would be great.” 

The elevator reaches the ground floor and the doors open. Rey and Finn walk off and head through the lobby of their building and out into the chilly November air. 

“Thanks again, Finn, I owe you one!” Rey calls as they part ways. “See you tonight!” 

  
  


It’s a short walk to the bus and a ten-minute ride to the stop near her office. First Order Design is located in a brick front building with a robin’s egg blue door and artistic logo on the large glass window. She's been working for the popular design firm since graduating from college a few years earlier and loves everything about it. Almost. 

“Oh. My God. There you are!” Her boss Armitage Hux greets her with an exasperated groan. “We have a major crisis this morning, Sheev Palpatine called and the order for the seasonal linens that were supposed to be delivered to his estate yesterday didn’t show. I had a team ready to go out there this morning to start working, but we’re missing a key component in the design and it’s absolutely pointless now. He’s fuming and I don’t know where to place the blame. No one at the linen company is responding. Are you sure you placed the order?” 

Rey reels back at his accusation. “I know for a fact that I did, I can pull up the invoice if you give me ten seconds.”

Armitage pinches his brow. “Please do. Actually, forward me a copy. I need it to send to the company and Mr. Palpatine. We can _not_ lose this client.” 

“On it,” Rey promises. 

“Fantastic,” her boss replies. “After that, I need you to double-check on all our outstanding orders for upcoming projects. I can’t have this happening again. It’s not good for my blood pressure.” 

Rey opens her mouth to protest, but Armitage has already walked out of the room.

She makes it to Maz’s pub just after six that evening. Her boss’s ridiculous demand that morning to double-check on every invoice had set her back hours on her own projects and she’d had to work through lunch and stay late just to get caught up with everything. 

Weaving her way to the back of the pub, she spies Finn and Rose already sitting at a table, chatting over drinks and she smiles. It’s almost tempting to leave before they see her and let her enjoy their impromptu date, but Rose spots her before she has a chance. 

“Sorry, Armitage was peak Armitage today,” Rey grumbles as she sits next to Rose and across from Finn. “If I didn’t need the experience to build my portfolio for a better job, I’d have quit months ago, but First Order is one of the top interior design firms in the city - if I’m ever going to get noticed by Lando Calrissian, it’s the best place for me to be.” 

Lando was the most successful realtor in the city and hired the best of the best to stage the gorgeous, and often expensive, homes he listed on the market. It was her dream to work for him one day. 

Rose nods. “We understand, I’m glad you could make it!” 

“Me too,” Finn agrees. “Now about this foster sister, ex-fiancé story, Rose wouldn’t tell me any details before you got here.” 

Rey rolls her eyes and looks around for a nearby waitress. “Let me order a drink, and I’ll tell you everything.” 

  
  



	2. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has to find a new date for the wedding, and goes shopping for the perfect dress to wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

* * *

  
“Good news,” Armitage greets her as she arrives at work the following morning. “We’ve been hired to decorate the Republic Financial building for the holidays. We’ll be heading over there shortly to look around and take measurements.” 

“Are you serious? That’s a big project!” Rey smiles. “Have you decided on the style or theme we’re going with yet?”

“Well,” he drawls. “Given that it’s a fairly modern building, I was thinking that something modern would be the obvious choice, no?” 

Armitage always wants to go _modern_. At least this time it actually fits the space. 

“Absolutely,” she agrees. “When are they expecting us?” 

“In an hour,” he replies dismissively. “Oh, while you’re still wearing your coat, can you run back out and grab me a non-fat, no foam, extra hot soy latte before we need to leave? I didn’t have time to stop on my way into the office this morning.” 

Republic is a five-story building in the heart of the city, the clean lines of glass and steel stand out against the more traditional concrete and brick buildings built decades earlier. Rey follows Armitage into the expansive lobby, taking in the space around her as they walk towards the visitor's desk. Immediately, dozens of ideas filled her head about how they could decorate the space. The three-story entrance certainly calls for a large tree, one that will be the focal point of the space, and the modern white space would look amazing accented with bold reds and greens. 

“I’ll be handling the lobby, and you’re in charge of decorating the offices on the second floor,” Armitage explains once they are given their visitor badges. “Take measurements and notes, I’ll need to sign off on your vision before you proceed to ensure it matches the plans I have for the rest of the building.” 

Rey sighs and nods, so much for having her own ideas. 

She leaves Armitage in the lobby and takes the elevator to the second floor to begin her task. As she steps out of the open doors, she runs directly into another person, sending her binders and measuring tape flying across the tile floor with a loud crash. 

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” 

The voice is too familiar and Rey glances over to see Ben Solo standing there. “Ben?” 

“Rey?” He gives her a wide grin. “It’s been a while, how have you been?” 

“Not getting married,” she snaps before crossing her arms across her chest. “I didn’t realize you worked here.” 

“Yeah, for several years now,” he replies. “And I’m sorry for that, I never realized that suggesting they talk about their job would have led to them getting together, you have to believe that it was never my intention.” 

She frowns. “Yeah. Sure.” 

An awkward silence fills the air around them as they both kneel and begin to gather her scattered objects from the floor. 

“Are you, uh, going to the wedding? I know you and Kaydel were close, right?” he asks awkwardly as he hands her a stack of papers and her measuring tape. 

“It wasn’t my first choice activity for the weekend, or the second or twenty-fourth, but she’s like family, and our old foster mom kind of guilted me into it,” Rey explains. “I assume you’re in the wedding?” 

“I’m actually not,” Ben shrugs. “Poe’s still a friend, but we had a bit of a falling out this summer.” 

Rey is tempted to ask about it further but convinces herself that she doesn’t care. “Right, well, I guess I’ll see you there.” 

She turns and begins to walk away when she hears him calling her name. 

“Rey, wait!” 

“What is it now?” she sighs as she stops and turns back around to face him. 

Ben runs his hand through his hair. “Would you like to go together? I don’t have a date and I figured if you weren’t -” 

“I have a date,” she interrupts him. 

His face falls. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were seeing anyone.” 

“It’s not a boyfriend, just a friend, so you don’t need to worry about ruining another one of my relationships,” she snarks.

Ben looks at her dumbfounded for a second and begins to reply. “Rey I -”

“I don’t want to hear it,” she cuts him off shortly. “I should get back to my job here before my boss realizes I haven’t measured a single office. See you around, Solo.” 

She’s finishing the measurements for the fifth office when her phone vibrates in her pocket. Pulling the device out and unlocking the screen, she sees a missed text from Finn. 

**Finn: I came down with the flu, I can’t make it this weekend. I’m so sorry.**

With a groan, she types a response. 

_Rey: It’s okay, Finn. I understand and I hope you feel better. Rose makes amazing chicken noodle soup, I’ll see if she can bring you over a bowl._

Scrolling to her latest conversation with Rose after sending her reply to Finn, she informs Rose of Finn’s illness and lets her take over from there. 

Ben is sitting at the desk of the next office she walks into and she lets out an audible groan. He looks up at her with an amused expression on his face. 

“I’ll be like two minutes, I only need a few measurements,” she says as she hustles over to his shelves, noticing how empty they are. “Man, Solo, you’re not one for any personal touches are you.” 

Glancing around the room she observes very few decorations beyond a framed painting - company issued, she’d seen the same design before - and a few books and a framed photo of him and an older couple, _his parents,_ she assumes, on the shelf behind him. 

“Yeah, well, I like it simple,” he shrugs. “Is it necessary to decorate my office?” 

“Your boss insisted,” Rey replies. “I promise I’ll limit the glitter.” 

Ben rolls his eyes. “Not funny.”

As she takes the final measurement and jots down a few notes, she looks over at Ben as an idea comes to mind. 

“Is the offer to go to Poe and Kaydel’s wedding still good?” she asks before she can think better of herself. 

“What happened to your date who isn’t a boyfriend?” He looks up at her curiously. 

“He just texted a few minutes ago, he has the flu,” she explains. “So if you were still offering -”

“I am,” he cuts in quickly. “I mean, I might be. It depends on if you’re still mad at me for doing something I had no idea I was doing.” 

She sets her measuring tape and notebook down and places her hands on his desk. “You didn’t approve of my relationship with Poe, what was I supposed to think?” 

“Wait, is that what you thought?” He asks her incredulously. 

“Based on the way you acted whenever you spent time with us? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

Ben chuckles softly and runs a hand through his hair. “That’s a wild jump to make, Jackson,” he says softly. “How about we let the past die and see what kind of reaction we get from showing up at this wedding together.” 

Rey smirks and shakes her head in amusement. “Fine. Give me your phone.” 

He hands over the sleek iPhone after unlocking the screen and she enters her information. 

“Now you have my phone number and address. You can pick me up at five on Saturday.” 

Glancing at the screen he shakes his head. “Five? Five-thirty at the earliest, the wedding isn’t until six-thirty and you live ten minutes from the venue.” 

“I was keeping traffic and parking in mind,” she replies. 

“We’ll be fine,” he promises. “I’ll see you at five-thirty.” 

Rey rolls her eyes and gathers up her belongings. “See you then, Solo.” 

She leaves his office before he can reply and makes her way to the next office. 

A few minutes later her phone buzzes. 

**206-555-8528: No glitter.**

****

Ben stares at Rey’s contact in his phone for far too long after she leaves. 

He’s thought about her more than he cares to admit over the years. Rey with her bright smile and feisty attitude. She wasn’t far off with her accusation that he hadn’t approved of her relationship with Poe, but it wasn't the entire story, and he certainly hadn’t set out to break up their relationship. 

Maybe she’ll give him the chance to explain one day. 

Pushing away from his desk with a sigh, he pockets his cell and wanders out into the hallway to refill his coffee mug in the breakroom. 

“Hey, Solo! Just the man I was coming to see!” Ben looks up to find his boss Cassian Endor, and Cassian’s wife Jyn Erso heading in his direction. 

“What’s up?” he asks as they meet. 

“I have a favor, well Jyn has a favor, to ask you,” Cassian smiles. “You know the house you own in that newer development over on Alliance Hill in Redmond?”

Ben nods slowly. “What about it?” 

“I’m the chair of the Holiday Homes Tour and the Acacia neighborhood is this year’s featured location,” Jyn explains. “I’ve been able to get every other homeowner on board to participate and it would really mean a lot if you could agree to open your home as well.” 

He lets out a long breath. “I don’t exactly live there and it’s practically empty. I was planning to put it on the market soon,” he explains. 

“Get an early start and throw up some decor while you’re at it, Solo, it would really mean a lot to Jyn,” Cassian chimes in with a grin. 

“I’ll consider it,” he sighs. 

Jyn smiles and pats him on the arm. “Thanks, Ben! I’ll be in touch!” 

_Well, shit._ Ben thinks to himself after they’ve walked away. 

Decorating. Especially decorating for the holidays _really_ isn’t his thing. 

****

“How about this one?” Rey pulls an emerald green satin slip dress off the rack. “Too sexy?” 

Rose shakes her head. “Mmm, not sexy enough, and the color isn’t right. Keep looking.” 

Rey puts the dress back. “I can’t show up to Poe and Kaydel’s wedding looking tacky, Rose.” 

“You can still look classy and sexy, we just have to find you the right dress.” Rose looks her up and down and then scans the boutique. “I’m thinking something dark red, ooh, or maybe dark purple. Fitted obviously, just above the knee, low back for sure.” 

That all sounded fine to Rey, the problem was finding a dress that met their criteria. 

“I’m going to look in that section over there,” she explains as she leaves Rose to wander over to a different rack of dresses. 

Nothing stands out, it’s either the wrong fit or the wrong pattern or just _wrong._ Sliding choice after choice along the metal bar, she sighs as she reaches the end of another section without seeing anything worth a second glance. 

“Here!” Rose comes rushing over with a rich plum dress draped over her arm. “You have to at least try it on.” 

Rey takes the dress and looks it over. It’s exactly what she had in mind, down to the slight shimmer in the fabric, and smiles at Rose. 

“Alright, come with me.” 

Rose claps her hands together excitedly and follows Rey to the dressing rooms in the back. 

The first dress is beautiful and the way the deep purple fabric has a subtle golden sheen in the right lighting is gorgeous. She isn’t sure if she likes how the cut of the dress flatters her figure and decides to show Rose and get her opinion. 

“What do we think?” she asks as she emerges from the stall. “I’m not sure about the fit.”

Rose studies her carefully, eyeing the full length of the dress. “The fit is alright. It’s nice.”

“I don’t want nice,” Rey sighs. “What else don’t you like about this one?” 

“I never said I didn’t like it, it just isn’t doing anything for you,” Rose answers. “The color isn’t sexy enough. I vote we go with red.” 

“I vote black,” she grumbles. 

Rose lets out a laugh. “People will jump to weird conclusions if you show up at this wedding in black, trust me,” she says. “Go change out of that one, I saw something earlier that might work.” 

She’s standing awkwardly in her bra and underwear in the poorly lit cubicle when a dark blue dress appears over the top of the door. 

“Navy?” Rey questions as she grabs the garment and pulls it into the fitting room. “I thought the goal was sexy?” 

“Trust me,” Rose says from the other side of the door. 

She decides that Rose is a genius when she slips on the dress and turns in the mirror to admire herself from every angle. The fit is perfect, showing off her curves and her back without being too revealing, while the pointed strapless neckline enhances her small bust. 

Stepping out of the fitting room, she makes a slow spin. 

“So?” 

Rose grins widely. “That’s the one,” she agrees. “They have it in red too, but it’s a brighter shade that I figured you wouldn’t go for. Navy seemed like a good compromise for black.” 

Rey studies herself in the mirror and shifts from side to side to take in every angle. “I love it,” she decides. 

“I knew you would,” Rose agrees. “I’m glad you’re still going to the wedding even if you’re not taking a date, though my offer of being your plus one still stands.” 

“About that,” she says as she turns back to face her friend. “I may have found another date.” 

Rose widens her eyes. “What! When did that happen?”

“First Order is decorating the Republic Financial building and I ran into Ben Solo when we were over there taking measurements earlier today,” she explains. “He asked if I wanted to go with him, but I shot him down because Finn, but then Finn texted about being sick and -”

“- and you took Ben up on his offer,” Rose finishes for her. “The same Ben Solo that you blame for setting up Poe and Kaydel?” 

Rey nods. “Yep. That would be him.” 

“And you’re going with him? _Why?_ You’re still talking about how much you hate him, and it’s been months.” 

“I need a date, and it’s petty, but if I show up with Ben it’ll probably piss Poe off,” she says with a shrug. 

Rose shakes her head. “You’re being ridiculous, but then again I think you’ve been ridiculous about hating Ben all this time too,” she tells her knowingly. 

Her friend has always been a solid voice of reason, even when she didn’t want to listen. 

“He did act a little weird when I brought up that fact that I blamed him for ending my relationship with Poe,” she shrugs. “I’m going to change so I can buy this and then we can go get something for dinner, my treat.” 

“Fine,” Rose calls after her. “We’re not done talking about this yet though.” 

Later that evening after a lengthy discussion with Rose over seafood and cocktails, Rey finds herself admitting that _maybe_ she doesn't hate Ben Solo as much as she claims. 


	3. The Announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey attend Poe and Kaydel's wedding and a little white lie grows quickly out of hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, as always, for your kudos and comments! 
> 
> This will be the last update until after Christmas. I hope you enjoy the holidays, however you celebrate, despite the craziness of 2020.

* * *

  
“We’re going to be late.” 

Ben turns down the next street and drives slowly as he looks for a spot to park. 

“We’re not going to be late, we still have thirty minutes.” 

Rey huffs, folding her arms over her chest, and sinks back into the passenger seat. “At this rate, it would have been faster if I had walked from my apartment.” 

He nods towards the four-inch beige pumps she’s wearing. “Don’t be ridiculous, you’d be complaining after half a mile in those shoes.” 

“I’m pretty sure we’re more than half a mile away right now with how far you’ve driven,” she shoots back. 

“It’s not my fault Poe and Kaydel picked a venue with the smallest possible parking lot and horrible street parking,” he grumbles. “We’re only four blocks over, by the way, but if I can’t find something on this next street, I’ll head back and drop you off.” 

He finds a spot on the next street. 

  
  


The walk to the wedding is thankfully downhill, and Rey finds herself holding onto Ben’s arm as she tries gracefully to walk in heels on the uneven concrete. 

“You doing alright?” he asks as she nearly stumbles on a break in the pavement. 

“I’m fine,” she replies with an edge to her voice. “I just want to get there and slip in the back without anyone noticing.” 

Ben chuckles softly. “Oh, people are definitely going to notice.” 

“What does that mean?” 

Rey stops walking and removes her arm from his to place both hands on her hips. 

“You, uh, you look pretty amazing in that dress, that’s all,” he admits with a blush. “People are going to notice you.” 

Rey isn’t sure how to respond so she rolls her eyes and grabs his arm once again. “Save your attempts at flirting for the reception, I’m sure Kaydel has a plethora of single friends you can hit on later.” 

Much to her relief, they are able to sneak in rather unnoticed and find a couple of empty chairs in the next-to-last row. Rey breathes deeply as she removes her wool coat and discreetly adjusts the neckline of her dress. 

“Okay, that wasn’t so bad,” she admits. 

“And we still have ten minutes,” he points out with a smug grin. “I told you we had nothing to worry about.” 

She’s about to respond when another voice comes from beside them. 

“Rey! What in the world are you doing back here? I saved you and your date a spot in the front row next to me.” 

Amilyn stands beside them in a sparkly beige dress with her purple hair swept into an elegant chignon.

“Oh no, it’s probably best that I stay back here,” she begins to argue. 

“Nonsense,” her foster mother replies. “The two of you are sitting by me and that’s final.”

Ben holds out his hand and helps Rey stand before they follow Amilyn to the front of the room where there are two reserved seats on the aisle of the second row

“You need to introduce me to your friend, Rey,” Amilyn says as she nods towards Ben. 

“Oh! Oh, right,” Rey motions between the two of them. “Ben this is my foster mother Amilyn Holdo, Amilyn this is my date, Ben Solo.” 

“Ben Solo? As in Han Solo and Leia Organa’s little Ben?” Amilyn asks. 

Rey looks at her with wide eyes. “How do you know Ben?” 

“I went to college with his mom Leia, we’ve lost touch over the years though,” Amilyn explains. “What a small world, you’ll have to tell your mother hello from me.” 

“I will,” Ben replies and shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

The string quartet that had been playing softly in the background starts a new song, this one noticeably louder in volume, as the crowd around them begins to grow quiet. 

“We should take our seats,” Amilyn whispers before patting Ben on the shoulder and squeezing Rey’s hand. 

Rey feels her stomach do a flip as the officiant walks to the front of the room followed by Poe and two other men she recognizes as friends of his. Thankfully he doesn’t notice her and the music changes again as the first bridesmaid makes her way down the aisle. 

“Oh no,” she gasps as she catches a glimpse of Kaydel’s friend. “No fucking way.” 

“Is everything okay?” Ben asks quietly. 

Rey shakes her head and scrunches her eyes shut. “Look at their dresses.”

Ben glances up as the first bridesmaid takes her place and shrugs. “It’s a dress, Rey.” 

“It looks just like mine,” she hisses. “I’m matching the damn bridal party.” 

“You’re fine. No one is going to notice,” he assures her. 

Amilyn turns around and shushes them. 

“ _Everyone_ is going to notice,” she whispers once her foster mother has turned around again. 

She watches as Kaydel and Poe exchange vows professing how glad they are to have found each other that feel like an absolute slap to the face. Even though she’s over Poe, it hurts to hear him tell someone else they are _the only one for him_ when he’d still been her fiancé seven months earlier. The two of them are perfect for one another though, and in a way, it provides a bit of closure to have another reminder that things have worked out for the best. 

The first time Poe notices them sitting together he nearly loses his composure, then proceeds to glance over in their direction on several more occasions. 

“He’s really confused,” Ben mutters under his breath. “His eyebrow is doing that twitchy thing.” 

Rey stifles a giggle behind her hand. “I almost feel bad.”

“I don’t,” Ben replies softly and places a hand on her thigh, giving her leg a soft squeeze. 

He doesn’t move it until the ceremony ends and everyone stands as the new husband and wife make their way back down the aisle. 

Kaydel and Poe find them minutes after they make their grand entrance into the reception and immediately launch into an interrogation after their awkward greetings. 

“So what’s going on with you two? Are you dating?” Kaydel asks excitedly. 

“Yes,” Rey replies suddenly. 

At the same time Ben answers, “No, we’re not.” 

_Shit._ They had agreed to come together, but they’d never talked about what they were going to tell people who asked if they were in a relationship.

“It’s umm - ” she begins to explain. 

“We’re not dating, we’re engaged!” Ben interrupts. 

She stops and glares at him, trying to process the major piece of news that he just announced. 

“Engaged?!” Kaydel squeals. “Oh my god, I had no idea you two were even together. This is so exciting! Ben, you have to tell me how proposed.” 

“You two are getting married?” Poe looks at them skeptically. “I thought you hated each other.” 

“Obviously not,” Rey answers through gritted teeth. “Excuse me for a moment, I need to have a little chat with my fiancé.” 

She drags him from the room and down a side hallway, stopping and looking around to make sure nobody else is in view. 

“What the fuck was that?!” 

He looks somewhat guilty as he shrugs. “You started it by saying we were dating and then I panicked when I said no while you said yes and it just slipped out.” 

“How does something like that just slip out?” she cries. 

“It just did!” He answers. 

Rey lets out a deep breath. “Okay, alright, this isn’t the end of the world. They’re going to be too wrapped up in their reception tonight so I doubt they’ll mention it to anyone else. We’ll tell them we broke things off when they get back from their Honeymoon.” 

“Or I can pull them aside when we go back in there and let them know it was a joke that went too far,” he offers. “I’m really sorry for blurting that out.” 

“That works too,” Rey nods. “It’s fine, at least no one else heard,” she replies. 

“Right,” he agrees. “Let’s get back in there and I’ll go talk to them, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

They return to the room to find Poe and Kaydel giving a speech in front of the entire room, sharing how thankful they are for everyone there. Rey follows quietly behind Ben as they make their way to an empty table. 

“There’s the happy couple!” Poe announces causing Rey and Ben to freeze in their tracks. “Kaydel and I just wanted to say how thrilled we are for our friends Ben Solo and Rey Jackson on the news of their engagement! Congratulations to you both!” 

Applause erupts around them as everyone turns to look at them. 

“So much for that plan,” she sighs. 

“I’ll still get up there and explain if you want,” Ben offers. “I got you into this mess.” 

“No, I don’t want to cause a scene,” Rey replies. “I’m going to take a walk, I’ll be back in a bit.” 

He doesn’t argue, and he doesn’t follow her. 

Later, as she makes her way back into the reception area she comes face to face with a familiar-looking older man standing at one of the taller tables around the perimeter of the room, sipping a drink. 

“You’re Lando Calrissian, aren’t you?” she asks as she approaches him. 

“That would be me,” he grins. “I don’t believe we’ve met, are you in the real estate business?” 

Rey shakes her head. “Not exactly, I work at First Order design but my dream is to stage homes. I was actually hoping that you might be able to find some time to look over my portfolio?” 

“I’m sorry, umm, I didn’t catch your name -“ 

“Oh! Right. It’s Rey. Rey Jackson.” 

She sticks her hand out awkwardly and he shakes it firmly. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Rey Jackson,” he smiles. “Listen, I’m sure you’re talented but I really only work with decorators who have a lot of experience. I’m sure you understand.” 

“Uncle Lando?” 

She turns to see Ben heading their way. 

“Benny!” Lando calls. “What is this about you being engaged? When am I going to meet the lucky woman?” 

“You’re standing right next to her,” Ben smirks. “This is my fiancée, Rey Jackson.” 

Lando lets out a laugh. “You know, I thought your name sounded familiar, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize it before. Congratulations to you both, when is the big day?”

“Oh, uh, we haven’t decided yet,” Rey answers. 

“It’s still new,” Ben adds. 

“Why don’t I take the two of you to dinner tomorrow evening at The Met to celebrate, and maybe we can talk a bit more about your work, Miss Jackson,” he winks. “Are you available at seven?” 

Rey nods. “I’m working with a team to decorate the Republic Financial building until five tomorrow, so seven is perfect if it works for Ben.” 

“Yeah, that works for me,” Ben answers. 

“Fantastic! I’ll see the two of you tomorrow,” Lando grins. “Congrats again!” 

“So, I guess we’re engaged through tomorrow evening, at least?” Ben guesses. 

Rey bites her lip and scrunches her nose. “Sorry about that, it’s just - he’s Lando Calrissian, working for him is my dream.” 

“Alright, we’ll play along for another day,” he agrees. “However, now I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I suppose I owe you one for this,” she sighs. “What is it?”

“My boss’s wife is the chair of the Holiday Homes Tour and I own a house in the neighborhood they’re featuring this year. I’ve been asked to participate, but I know nothing about holiday decorations, and the house is hardly furnished.”

“I’ll do it!” She answers quickly. 

“You will?” 

Rey nods and smiles. “The Holiday Homes Tour is a big deal, the exposure would be amazing,” she explains before her brow furrows. “Wait, _you_ own a house in Acacia?”

The Acacia Estates were located thirty minutes outside of the city and consisted of ten massive homes in an exclusive gated community. The homes started in the low three million dollar range and were absolutely gorgeous. Decorating one for the holidays would be a dream come true. 

“I bought one of the lots when it was in pre-build as an investment property, the neighborhood was in high demand and Lando gave me a heads up that it would be a good buy right before they went on the market,” he explains.

“Wow, okay,” she grins. “When did you want me to start?”

“Why don’t you come over on Monday after work?” Ben suggests. 

“Alright,” she agrees. 

“Alright."

“We should probably get back in there,” she adds after a moment. 

Ben runs a hand through his hair nervously. “Yeah, about that, Amilyn was looking for you earlier.” 

“Oh god, how am I going to explain this to her,” she groans. 

Ben shrugs. “Does she have any reason to _not_ believe you?” 

“Just the small, tiny, _minor_ detail of suddenly having a fiance that I’ve never mentioned, that’s all,” she replies sarcastically. 

“Well she seemed excited for us when she talked to me, and we only need to pretend for what? A couple of days?” 

“Fine, come on, I haven’t taken advantage of the open bar yet and you owe me at least one dance, Solo.” 

It’s nearly eleven by the time Rey makes it back to her apartment. The rest of Kaydel and Poe’s wedding reception had gone by with little drama, aside from Amilyn’s insistence on setting up a day to take her dress shopping. 

“How was the wedding? Did you want to kill Solo the whole night?” Rose asks as Rey walks through the front door and immediately kicks off her heels. 

“Not the best night of my life, but it was better than I expected,” she admits. “Ben was fine.”

“Oh, _Ben_ now is it?” Rose raises a brow. “You almost sound like you don’t hate him.”

“He’s not as bad as he used to be, and we’re umm, kind of fake engaged.”

Rose stares at her like she’s gone absolutely insane. “I’m sorry, come again?” 

“It’s a whole mess we got ourselves into, and I say _we_ because as much as I’d love to blame only him - I’m partially at fault too.”

“Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”

She tells Rose about the impulsive confession to Kaydel and Poe, and how it turned into a much bigger deal with Poe announcing their news to the entire reception, and finally Ben’s connection to Lando and the dinner invitation for the next evening. 

“So yeah, it’s just for a couple of days or so, just to get through the dinner with Lando,” she finishes. 

“The two of you are crazy,” Rose sighs with an amused shake of her head. 

“I’m also helping Ben decorate his house for the holiday homes tour,” she adds. “So I’ll probably be around a lot less in the evenings and weekends until the event. It’s going to be a lot of work.” 

“It sounds like he wanted an excuse to spend more time with you,” Rose grins. 

Rey scoffs. “I highly doubt that.” 

“Someone’s in denial,” Rose replies in a sing-song voice. 

“You're impossible,” she rolls her eyes. “How is Finn doing?” 

“He’s alright, pretty sick still but I spent the afternoon watching movies with him, so there’s that,” Rose says as she blushes. 

Rey grins at the smitten look on her friend’s face. “That’s really sweet.” 

“I really like him, like more than I thought before,” her friend confesses. 

“He’s a good one,” Rey agrees as she begins walking towards her bedroom. “I’m going to head to bed, I can hardly stand and I have to work all day tomorrow. Goodnight, Rose.” 

“Goodnight future Mrs. Solo!” Rose calls after her. 

  
  
  
  



	4. The Deal(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey spends her Sunday decorating, dining, and making deals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a wonderful holiday however you celebrate! Here's a new chapter :)
> 
> Thanks as always for the kudos and comments and love!

* * *

  
By the time Rey has decorated the seventh office in a row with Armitage approved decorations, she’s ready for a nap. Her ideas for a simple and traditional theme shot down in favor of his over the top modern look. The abstract designs and dominating silver and jewel-toned palette fit with the aesthetic of the lobby, not so much with the personal employee spaces.

Ben’s office is next and she feels a strange sense of uncertainty as she carefully turns the handle and pushes open the closed door. 

“Holy fuck!” she exclaims as she goes to flip the light switch, only to find that it’s already on and Ben is smiling at her from behind his desk. 

“Good morning to you too, fiancée,” he grins playfully. 

Rey collects herself before she drops the box of decorations and sets the items down on the chair just inside the door. 

“You think you’re so funny,” she grumbles. “You could have texted and let me know you were going to be here today.”

Ben pushes his chair back before standing up and walking around his desk. “I usually work at least part of one day on the weekend, it honestly didn't cross my mind,” he explains. 

The snarky reply she had planned suddenly doesn't seem like the best idea, and she drops her shoulders. “Right, I suppose that makes sense.” 

“So, you’re here to decorate, huh?” he asks as he eyes the box of decorations behind her with a concerned expression. “Wait. Is that glitter?” 

Rey turns and follows his gaze to the silver glittery trees meant for the bookshelves. “Yeah, my boss ended up overriding all of my ideas. Sorry.” 

“What if you told your boss that my office was locked and you couldn’t get in to decorate?” Ben suggests. 

She rolls her eyes and reaches into the box, digging around and producing a set of keys. “They gave me a master key.” 

“Of course,” Ben shakes his head. “Well, let's compromise then. I’ll let you have free reign of decorating my house since I have no plans to actually live in it, and you’ll let me veto three things in that box.” 

Rey thinks it over for a moment. “Decorating your house for the holidays, or in general?” she clarifies. 

“Both,” he confirms. “No restrictions, no budget. I trust you won’t be too outrageous with the former and probably not the latter but I don’t care as much about that.” 

“Don’t tempt me, Solo,” she grins. 

He digs into his back pocket and pulls out a wallet, removing a black credit card and tossing it towards her. “You could furnish and decorate every house in Acacia before hitting a limit on that. Have at it, sweetheart.”

She stares at the card for a moment and goes to hand it back. “I don’t need it yet. We aren’t even starting on your house until tomorrow.” 

“Nah, keep it. Start buying anything you think you might need if you have time before tomorrow afternoon. Hell, you could even buy yourself something for your own house,” he says with a shrug. “I don’t care. I have nothing else to spend money on.” 

“Ben!” she exclaims. “I am not spending _your_ money on myself!” 

“I wouldn’t care if you did,” he shrugs again. 

Rey clears her throat and feels her face flush. “I have a lot of work to do still and I don’t want to be late for our dinner with Lando tonight. Why don’t you pick out the things you don’t want me to use, and I’ll be out of your hair.” 

She watches as Ben walks towards the box and begins to look carefully through the items. Unsurprisingly, the glittery silver trees are the first to go. 

“These count as one item, by the way,” he says as he sets them down on the floor. 

“That’s fine,” she laughs. 

A weird star-shaped object and a flocked garland with silver glittery ornaments are the other two items added to the reject pile. Rey glances into the box and nods as she takes out an empty glass bowl and fills it with silver ornaments before placing it on the shelf and flanking it with two LED candles. A small Christmas tree with silver ornaments is set up in the corner of his office and a few other odds and ends are placed on various surfaces. At a casual glance, no one would even notice the missing objects, and she hopes Armitage won’t insist on doing a walkthrough to make sure everything is in place. 

“It’s not bad,” Ben admits once she finishes. “Still too much glitter, but a deal is a deal.” 

Rey smirks as she makes sure everything is packed back into her box. “I’ll see you at The Met tonight.”

“Wait, Rey,” he calls as she goes to leave. “Would you like me to pick you up? That way you don’t have to drive and find parking.” 

“There’s a very good chance I’ll be coming straight from here,” she admits. 

“That’s no problem. I can pick you up from here just as easily,” he smiles. “Just text me by six and let me know where okay?” 

She returns his smile and nods. “Okay.” 

Thankfully Armitage is too busy making sure everything in the main entrance of the building is _perfect_ to have extra time to check her progress with upstairs. She adds an extra glitter-covered tree to each of the next few offices and decides the lady who has far too many cat pictures would appreciate the added touch of two flocked, sparkly, garlands. Stowing the extra star figure in a random closet, she takes the empty box back downstairs. 

“Rey! Perfect timing!” Armitage calls out as soon as he sees her. “We need an extra hand decorating the tree. It’s taking forever and the extra staff I hired to help is completely incompetent.” 

“It looks like it’s going alright,” she says after looking over the progress for a moment. 

Armitage lets out a long exaggerated sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look closer. The spacing of the ornaments around the lower right section is all wrong. Just go fix it, I’m getting a migraine.” 

She doesn’t argue. Dealing with ornament spacing is vastly better than dealing with an Armitage Hux who thinks he’s getting a migraine. 

_Rey: I somehow made it home before six, so if your offer to still pick me up for dinner still stands, I’ll be at my apartment._

The text is sent within moments of entering her apartment just after five-thirty that evening, and Ben’s reply comes within seconds. 

**Ben: Sounds good, did everything else go alright today?**

_Rey: For the most part. Armitage was too obsessed over the main entrance to worry about the offices, but it also meant that I was roped into helping make sure the ornament placement was perfect on the big tree in the lobby for nearly three hours. If that big PNW earthquake was going to hit at any time, I’d vote for it to happen now, just to have a reason for that ridiculous tree to fall over. Good riddance._

**Ben: I sense some hostility over a tree.**

_Rey: Oh hush, you’ll see it tomorrow and you’ll understand._

**Ben: You forgot I was there today, I saw it when I left. It’s something…**

_Rey: I can guarantee it’s gotten way worse since you went home._

_Rey: Anyway, I need to shower and get ready for tonight. I’ve never eaten at The Met, what should I even wear?_

**Ben: Well, it’s Seattle so you could get away with jeans, but I’ll probably wear what I had on earlier if you wanted to go with something along those lines.**

She thinks back to the button-down shirt and slacks he had on earlier. Business casual but not _too_ casual. It will definitely help her decide on her own outfit. 

_Rey: Thanks, that helps. I’ll see you in a little bit, then?_

**Ben: You’re welcome. I'll see you around 6:30.**

Rose isn’t around to help her choose which somewhat casual little black dress to pick from her closet, so she closes her eyes and randomly grabs a hanger, smiling when her favorite option is the pick. It isn’t the newest dress, and it’s starting to show its wear, but it’s been her go-to favorite since college. Pairing it with her classic black heels and grabbing her tan wool pea coat, interior design portfolio, and purse, she heads down to the lobby of her building to wait for Ben. 

His Tesla Model Y pulls up right on time, and he hops out of the driver’s seat to walk around and open the passenger door for her. 

“You look beautiful,” he compliments as she slides onto the leather seat. 

“Oh, thanks,” she murmurs before he shuts the door. 

A few seconds later he’s behind the driver’s seat again. She watches as he punches in the coordinates for the restaurant into the display screen before he pulls back onto the road and makes his way towards the downtown area. 

They arrive at The Met just before seven. Ben helps Rey out of her seat before handing over the car to the valet who looks far too excited for the chance to get to drive the newest Tesla model. Gently placing his hand on her back, he guides her through the entrance and into the lobby. 

“How may I help you two?” A woman behind the hostess desk asks as they approach. 

“We’re here for dinner with Lando Calrissian,” Ben replies. 

The woman’s face lights up with recognition and she nods. “Of course. Mr. Calrissian was just seated a moment ago. Allow me to accompany you to his table.” 

They follow the woman to a spacious booth near the back where Lando sits sipping what Rey assumes is a very expensive glass of scotch. He sets the drink down and stands as they approach, greeting Ben with a handshake and Rey with a soft kiss on the cheek. 

“Sit, sit, I’m so glad you two are here,” he greets them before turning to the hostess. “Can you bring a bottle of your finest champagne to the table? We’re celebrating their engagement tonight!” 

Rey blushes as the hostess enthusiastically congratulates them and assures them that she’ll have a bottle brought out right away. 

“That’s really not necessary, Uncle Lando,” Ben begins. 

“Nonsense,” Lando dismisses him as he sits back down in his seat. “My favorite nephew finally settling down is huge news. Is your mother just beside herself?” 

She looks at Ben curiously after realizing that she never asked if he was going to tell his parents. The thought hadn't really crossed her mind given that their arrangement would likely be coming to an end that evening. 

“My mother is thrilled,” he answers. “I called and told my parents earlier today.” 

“You did?” Rey finds herself asking before she can think better of herself. 

He gives a slight nod of his head towards Lando. “Well, I couldn’t have this one over here sharing our news before us, sweetheart. I hope you don’t mind.” 

Sensing that he plans to tell her more later, she smiles and nods. “Of course not.” 

When they’ve nearly finished their dinner and drank through at least half the bottle of champagne, Lando clears his throat and nods his head towards her. 

“So, Rey, I believe that you've brought some examples of your work to show me?” he asks with a grin. 

She sets her fork down and reaches for the leather-bound portfolio sitting beside her before handing it carefully across the table. “It’s a collection of the projects I’ve done since I've begun working for First Order.”

He takes the folder and begins to flip through the pages, eyeing each design with an unreadable expression. 

“She’s really talented,” Ben adds. “I’ve asked her to decorate my home for the Holiday Homes Tour as well as staging it to put on the market at the beginning of next year.”

Lando looks up at him with a surprised expression. “You’re planning to sell it already?” 

“It’s already made a huge profit, I don’t see the point in waiting much longer,” he shrugs. 

“Not sure that I agree that’s the best decision, Benny boy, but it’s your choice I suppose, and you know I’m always happy to be your listing agent,” Lando answers. 

“I wouldn’t dream of asking anyone else,” Ben agrees.

He’s responding to Lando, but his eyes are on her. 

Rey glances between the two men, nervously biting her lip. 

“This all looks wonderful, Rey, you really do have an eye for design,” Lando compliments. “However, I want to see what you do with Ben’s house before I offer you a job. If you can wow me with both the holiday decor _and_ staging to put on the market, I think it’s safe to say you’ll have my attention,” he explains as he hands the portfolio back to her.

“Of course,” she murmurs, too nervous to say anything more. 

“Excellent,” Lando replies. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” 

Once he’s out of earshot, Rey turns to Ben and glares at him with wide eyes. “So much for just a couple of days pretending to be engaged.”

“Right,” he sighs. “Well, I’m up for two more weeks of this if you are.”

She really isn’t, but it would raise a lot of questions if they were to call off their fake engagement now, and she _really_ wants that job with Lando. They’d make it work. He was busy with his job and she’d be spending every minute outside of her job at First Order to decorate and stage his house. It wouldn’t be too hard. Right? 

“Count me in, Solo,” she replies. 

Lando returns to the table just as the waiter appears to ask if they want to order a dessert. Rey eagerly nods as soon as she eyes the creme brulee on the menu. Her two dinner companions order the cheesecake and their waiter leaves with a smile. As she settles back into the booth, her phone begins to buzz from her purse beside her. Choosing to ignore it, she takes another sip of her champagne and listens as Ben and Lando begin discussing more real estate talk. 

Her phone begins ringing again and she sighs as she pulls the device from her purse.

“I’m sorry, I need to take this,” she apologizes as she notices Armitage’s name on her phone screen for the second time in as many minutes. 

Lando motions for her to go ahead and she stands quickly and disappears down the side hallway to the restrooms, answering the call with hushed tones. 

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?” 

“Were you going to tell me you were going to do the Holiday Home Tour?” Armitage’s accusatory tone comes through the other end of the line. “I just received an email with the updated information, and surprise surprise _your_ name is on the list of designers. How do you even know Ben Solo?” 

Rey rolls her eyes. “I haven’t even started yet, Ben asked me this weekend. His Boss’ wife is the chair and he was roped into participating.” 

“That still doesn’t explain how you _know_ him. Ben Solo is one of the richest men in the city, why would he hire you?” Armitage’s voice is dripping with disdain and she nearly reels back at his tone. 

“He hired me because he likes my work,” she shoots back. “Why are you all up in arms about this, Armitage? You’re already doing the Pryde home.” 

He lets out a dramatic groan. “You don’t get it, Rey, by participating in this, you’re now competing with me and I just can't have that. People like Lando Calrissian come to this event and I need to be the best one there.” 

Stifling a giggle at the mention of Lando who is currently sitting twenty feet away. Armitage’s accusation is nearly a compliment if she’s as big of a threat to him as it sounds. 

“I’m sure it won’t matter,” she attempts to smooth things over with her boss.

“No, it won’t,” Armitage replies testily. “Because you no longer work for me. You can come by tomorrow at eleven and collect your things from your desk.”

“What?” she isn’t sure that she’s heard him right. 

“You’re fired, Rey.” 


	5. The House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey begins making plans for Ben's house and finally gets to take a peek inside. Later they have dinner with Amilyn who maybe, sort of, definitely isn't getting suspicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments on the last chapter about Hux were SO amusing (and I promise I'll reply soon, I'm horribly behind right now!) I definitely channeled a lot of the character he's based on from the movie with a little bit of canon Hux and a heavy dash of David Rose from Schitt's Creek. 
> 
> This fic is turning into pure self-indulgent fluff and banter and I kind of love writing something that's almost “out-Hallmarking” a Hallmark Movie. Thanks for reading and commenting and enjoying!

* * *

  
“You’re ignoring my texts again.” 

Rey answers the phone the next morning as she waits for her coffee to finish brewing. Amilyn had been trying to get a hold of her since after Poe and Kaydel’s wedding that weekend. 

“I’m not,” she insists. “I’ve just been busy.” 

There is a pause, followed by an inelegant snort. “Oh yes, too busy to even let me know that you’ve been seeing someone long enough to be engaged. That busy?” 

“It hasn’t been that long,” she grumbles. “Poe proposed to Kaydel after a month. A month!” 

“And how long have you and your fiancé been together?” 

She doesn’t want to lie more than necessary, the charade isn’t going to last forever. 

“Longer than that,” she replies defensively. 

“Well, I’m still upset you didn’t tell me about him,” Amilyn continues. “I want to hear all about everything. Can you get away on your lunch break today?” 

“I have a full day planned, not with my job, I don’t even have a job, Armitage is an insecure jerk who fired me,” she pauses and looks over at the sound of Rose dropping her spoon into her cereal bowl. “But it’s okay, I have another job lined up, well not really a job, I’m helping Ben decorate his house for that Holiday Homes Tour and I want to impress Lando Cal-“ 

“Rey!” Amilyn cuts in loudly. “Slow down. You lost your job?” 

“Last night, yeah, but it’s okay. Really. Armitage was a pain to work with,” she assures her. 

“I’m still sorry,” her foster mother replies. 

“I probably needed to quit anyway. It's pretty clear that he never would have given me the opportunities I needed.” 

There’s another pause before Amilyn begins speaking again. “So Ben hired you?” 

“Well no, he asked me to help decorate his house and then Armitage found out and thinks it will make me some big competition because he’s also decorating a house for the tour,” she explains. “It’s completely ridiculous.” 

“Something better will come along,” Amilyn says after a moment. 

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Rey answers. “The tour will give me a lot of exposure.” 

“So about getting together to talk about this engagement of yours and discuss wedding plans, hmm?” 

“I can come for dinner tomorrow night, and I’ll bring Ben!” 

She winces silently as soon as the words leave her mouth. 

“Excellent! I’ll see you both at six,” Amilyn replies. “Talk to you later, love you!” 

“Love you too,” she sighs and hangs up the phone. 

“Excuse me, when was I going to find out that you lost your job?” Rose asks. 

Rey pours a mug of coffee and walks over to the table, taking the seat across from her friend. “You didn’t come home until after I was asleep,” she reminds her. “Shouldn’t I be the one interrogating you?” 

“I was in the middle of a Harry Potter movie marathon with Finn, nothing happened, he’s still sick,” she answers quickly. “You really lost your job?”

“Really, really.” 

Rose frowns. “What did Ben say?” 

“I didn’t tell him,” she replies as she blows across the top of her mug before taking a tentative sip of the steaming hot beverage. “I got the call when I was in the middle of our dinner with Lando and it’s not like I could go back to the table after and announce that I’d lost my interior design job in front of the man I’m trying to get an interior design job with.” 

“Good point,” she agrees. 

“By the time we left and he drove me home, I wasn’t in the mood to bring it up.” 

“I take it based on the phone call I overheard that your _fake_ engagement isn’t over yet?” 

Rey shakes her head. “Lando wants to wait and see how I decorate Ben’s house for the holiday tour, we agreed to keep up the arrangement until after.” 

A sly grin crosses her roommate’s face. “How convenient.” 

“Rose,” she warns. “It’s still not like that.” 

“Mmm, of course not,” Rose teases. “I need to get ready for work, I’ll be home late tonight - Finn and I have a date with The Goblet of Fire.” 

She spends the morning sitting on the couch, drinking through the pot of coffee she made earlier and making Pinterest boards. The development Ben’s house is in had been built recently enough that googling his address pulls up the real estate listing, complete with dozens of photos and a floor plan. It’s nearly five thousand square feet and the two-story great room looks like it would swallow her entire apartment. Twice. 

Having been to several of the tours in the past, she had an idea of what would be expected. Exterior lights and decor were key, and she easily decides on the idea of classic warm white lights with rich green wreaths trimmed with dark red bows in the front-facing windows as must-haves for the look. Inside, the entire living area downstairs needs to be decorated, as will the entryway, the dining room, the master suite upstairs, and at least one children’s bedroom or play area. As her list of ideas grows she begins to mentally calculate the cost of what it’s going to take to pull all of this together in two weeks and pauses. 

_Rey: You never gave me a budget_

She sends a quick text and returns to her Pinterest browsing before his reply comes a few minutes later. 

**Ben: Who said I had a budget?**

_Rey: Everyone has a budget. Even Sheev Palpatine has a budget_

**Ben: I don’t have a budget**

**Ben: And Sheev Palpatine is stingy**

_Rey: You know Sheev Palpatine?_

**Ben: Unfortunately**

_Rey: Can you at least give me a budget?_

A moment later the meme of Dr, Evil from _Austin Powers_ holding his pinky to the side of his mouth and a caption reading _“one million dollars!”_ appears. 

_Rey: Very funny. You’re ridiculous. Seriously, budget?_

The same image is sent again, this time with _“one hundred billion dollars!”_ as the caption. 

**Ben: Okay, I don’t have that much, but I’m pretty sure you won’t even come close to anything that would make me look twice. There’s no way you could spend too much. I promise**

She stares at her phone in disbelief for several moments. 

_Rey: What will you even do with all the furniture and decorations if you’re not planning to keep the house?_

**Ben: Sell them with the house? Let you keep them? It doesn’t matter.**

She laughs at the idea of trying to fit an entire house’s worth of furniture into her tiny apartment. 

_Rey: I still think you’re ridiculous_

**Ben: It’s better than you hating me.**

She reads his response twice through, and then a third time before slowly typing out her response.

_Rey: I never hated you._

_Rey: I’ll see you at your place. Five thirty still, right?_

**Ben: Right. See you then.**

There’s an awkward shift in her mood after their conversation. Even though she and Ben aren’t currently in the same room, she can feel that same uncomfortable tension as though he actually was. Briefly, she wonders if she should send a joke or a funny meme to lighten things up between them again, but decides against it and goes to get ready for the day. 

“This is insane, you realize that right,” Rey gushes as she steps out of her car and onto the circular driveway in front of Ben’s house. 

He smirks at her from where he stands by the front door. “It is, but people pay big money to live in this neighborhood so it was a worthy investment.” 

She watches as he unlocks the front door, pushing it open before motioning for her to step inside first. 

“Wow,” she breathes, taking in the two-story entrance with the circular wrought iron chandelier that looks directly into the massive living room ahead of them. “This is even more amazing than the pictures.” 

“You were looking at pictures of my house?” he teases. 

“I’m an interior designer who wants to stage homes for a living, I browse the real estate listings like most people browse social media. I’ve been obsessed with this neighborhood since they started building it,” she admits. “This is my dream house, I can’t believe you’re going to sell it.” 

“You want it?” He says and she knows he’s joking but a part of her immediately wants to scream _yes!_

“Very funny, Solo, now give me a grand tour of this place so I can take notes for what I need to spend one hundred billion dollars on,” she retorts. 

He shows her around the main floor first as she jots notes into her phone and refers to her Pinterest boards to see what ideas she’d had would work or not. She easily decides that the two-story great room definitely calls for a large tree, and there is a walkway on the second floor that goes over the space between the entryway and living area that would look amazing trimmed with lighted garland. The interior is done in the latest trend of lots of white with grey walls and dark wood floors and she decides that a rich palette of greens and reds with accents of classic black and white will really pop against the otherwise neutral space and tie in both the traditional and modern aspects. 

“You weren’t kidding about not having any furniture,” she comments as they enter the master suite on the upper floor to find it empty. 

“I’ve only been here for a few hours total,” he shrugs. “I have someone come in and clean it once a month, but that’s about it.” 

Rey doesn’t want to know how much _that_ bill costs. She can’t imagine being that rich, and it’s almost annoying how nonchalant he is about his wealth. It would be even more annoying if she hadn’t looked up his net worth out of curiosity earlier that day and found out that he donated millions to various charities annually, including the non-profit organization that Amilyn founded. 

“I saw a bedroom set at Restoration Hardware earlier today that would be perfect in here,” she muses as she walks around the space. 

“Playing hooky to shop?” He grins. 

She bites her lip as she realizes she still hasn’t told him about her job, or rather, her lack of a job.

“About that.” 

He gives her a concerned look. “What’s going on, Rey?” 

“I maybe sort of got fired last night during our dinner with Lando. Armitage called because he found out I was decorating your house for the tour and he’s also decorating a house for the tour which apparently makes me his competition or something totally ridiculous,” she explains, her eyes dart to the far wall as she attempts to avoid looking at his face. 

“Shit, Rey, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry,” he immediately replies. “You have to let me pay you for doing all of this work.”

“No!” she answers quickly. “I’m not letting you spend any more of your money when you’re the one who is doing me a huge favor. The exposure this is going to give me, not only to Lando but to many interior design companies and real estate agents is more than enough.” 

Ben looks at her skeptically. “If you say so,” he replies. 

“I say so,” she answers before walking into the adjacent bathroom. “Oh, and by the way, we’re having dinner with Amilyn at six tomorrow!” 

She’s running late to meet Ben at Amilyn’s for dinner. Her entire day had been spent at his house as shipment after shipment of furniture and decor were delivered well into the afternoon. The cost of the overnight expedited shipping alone has made her head spin, but she’d been able to make a big dent in the amount of furniture the house needed for the rooms she’d been staging and there was a lot more still to come through the week. 

Ben is already there when she arrives, sipping a glass of red wine and chatting with Amilyn in the living room. 

“Sorry, the dining set delivery came late and then I hit traffic on the 520 bridge,” she says as she shrugs out of her jacket and hangs it alongside her purse on the back of a chair. 

“You’re fine, Ben was just catching me up with how his parents are doing,” Amilyn replies. 

“I was telling her that my mother is looking forward to having us for dinner on Friday,” he adds with a smirk. 

_That_ is news to her. Though it’s only fair that he plans a dinner with his parents without telling her first since she’d done the same for him. 

Giving him a brilliant smile in return, she sits down beside him. “I can’t wait.” 

“So how was your day, dear? I take it you got a lot done?” Amilyn asks as she slides a glass of wine across the table towards her. 

Rey takes a sip before replying. “I had a lot of furniture delivered and set up in various rooms. For the most part, I’ve finished buying almost all of the bigger pieces and a lot of the smaller things. I have plenty more still to come and a lot of shopping to do though, Ben’s house is massive. Then there’s the exterior and all the Christmas trees I’ll need, losing my job this week was the best possible timing.” 

“I’m looking forward to seeing everything,” Ben adds. “I’ve never had an eye for decorating. An ex-girlfriend furnished most of my apartment and it’s really not my style but I haven’t been motivated enough to change things.” 

There’s an instant feeling of jealousy that she quickly tries to forget. 

“Well, maybe Rey will have to redecorate your apartment next,” Amilyn suggests. “What do you think of it, dear?” 

Having never seen Ben’s apartment, let alone not actually knowing _where_ it is she isn’t quite sure how to answer. 

“Oh yeah, it’s not really my thing either,” she shrugs. “We haven’t really talked about changing it yet.” 

The conversation continues over dinner with Amilyn asking how they reconnected and when they started dating. They’d decided the night before to keep the story simple and not far from the truth. They ran into one another earlier that year and started talking again and spending time together and one thing led to another and he asked her to marry him right before Poe and Kaydel’s wedding. 

“It was entirely spontaneous,” Ben grins. “I didn’t have a ring, we were just sitting on the couch watching a movie and I realized how much I didn’t want to live without her.” 

“That is just the sweetest,” Amilyn gushes. “What movie were you watching?” 

“It’s a Wonderful Life,” Ben answers.

At the same time, Rey replies, “White Christmas.” 

Amilyn looks between the two of them curiously. 

“She’s right, White Christmas,” Ben says. “Gene Kelly is fantastic in that one.” 

“He’s not in White Christmas,” Rey corrects quietly. “It’s Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.” 

“Right,” he mumbles. “I was too distracted to pay attention I guess.” 

“Well, it’s been one of Rey’s favorites since she was younger so I’m sure you’ll have the entire thing memorized in no time,” Amilyn chimes in with a smile. “Have you two considered a wedding date yet?” 

Ben looks over at her and she gives him a slight shrug. 

“Next June or July, possibly,” he answers. 

“Not December? Rey has always wanted a Christmas wedding,” Amilyn replies. 

“I did,” she adds quickly, “I mean, I still do, but a summer wedding has a lot of perks too. It’s just an idea for now.” 

“I didn’t realize you’d always wanted a Christmas wedding,” Ben replies softly. 

“It’s fine, it’s a silly dream that pretty much died when Poe broke off our engagement,” she murmurs. “What’s for dessert?” 

Amilyn stands and motions for her to follow. “Why don’t you come and help me out in the kitchen.” 

“I’ll be right back.” 

She gives Ben an apologetic smile before following her foster mother into the next room. 

“Okay, what’s going on?” Amilyn turns and asks as soon as they’re out of earshot. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” she tries to play innocent, but she’s never been good at lying and Amilyn knows it better than anyone else. 

“You two are obviously head over heels for one another, but you can’t expect me to believe you’ve actually been hiding a boyfriend - let alone one you’ve become engaged to, for months Rey.” 

“It just seemed like a good idea to keep it quiet,” she answers after a moment. “He makes me really happy.” 

She convinces herself that the second part is the bigger lie. 

“If you say so,” Amilyn sighs. “As long as you are happy, dear, then I’m happy for you.” 

Rey nods and watches as her foster mother grabs the small plate of chocolate chip cookies from the counter. 

“I am.” 

It surprises her how easy the words slip out and she takes a deep breath before following Amilyn back into the dining room. 

This entire arrangement was becoming way too complicated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, Rey. Lying to Amilyn isn't the best idea...
> 
> (so, in the actual movie, the main character has a Dad and Brother - which I obviously didn't write into this fic, I used Rose in their place. Amilyn's character is actually her Aunt and Kaydel's character is her cousin. So the Dad, Brother, Aunt, and Cousin are all at the wedding and hear the announcement and only the brother is suspicious but everyone else is super happy for them and goes along with thinking the engagement is legit. Obviously since Rose wasn't at the wedding I wasn't going to have Rey lie to her, so it left Amilyn to keep "tricking" and have the awkward confrontation scene here. It's totally just for fun and to keep that aspect of the plot so don't get too mad at Rey, okay? Haha!) 
> 
> If you're curious about the inspiration I used for Ben's home, google Rosewood Estates in Redmond, WA, and browse the photos. I used one of the exterior shots in the moodboard too 😊


	6. The Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben surprises Rey by taking the afternoon off to help her at the house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff and fun...and some innuendo too...enjoy!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and for your sweet comments, they absolutely make my day!

* * *

  
“There’s a giant dumpster in my front yard.” 

She jumps and nearly drops the ceramic bowl she’s holding as Ben strolls into the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” 

It’s a silly question, it’s _his_ house. 

“I thought I’d take the afternoon off and bring you lunch,” he explains, holding up a white bag and drink carrier. “Deluxe, fries, strawberry shake?” 

A smile crosses her face as she sets the bowl down on the kitchen island and reaches for the food. 

“You seriously took the afternoon off of work to bring me Dick’s?” 

“Sure did!” Ben regards her with an amused expression. “I’m assuming this is the Dick’s you meant?” 

She pauses digging through the grease-soaked bag and rolls her eyes. “Oh haha, Solo. Did you think of that one all on your own?” 

“Maybe,” he grins as he reaches his hand alongside hers in the bag and pulls out his own burger. 

They sit and eat in silence, the sounds of crinkling wrappers and slurping milkshakes fill the open space. She hasn’t indulged in the popular drive-in cuisine in a while and she’s thankful she commented about her craving during their text conversation earlier that day. 

“It looks amazing in here,” he mentions looking towards the living area. “It’s definitely better than the decor in my apartment.” 

“The apartment I still haven’t seen,” she points out as she swallows another bite of food. 

Ben smiles. “You haven’t asked, Jackson.” 

“I’m just curious,” she blushes. “It’s not a big deal.” 

“You’re welcome to come over anytime,” he adds casually. 

She smirks slightly and gives a slight nod. “Maybe I will.” 

“So about that dumpster?” Ben asks as he finishes the last bite of his burger. 

Rey sets her food down and motions towards the kitchen nook that is currently filled with shipping boxes and shopping bags of varying sizes. “Your average-sized trash can and recycling bins in the pantry weren’t quite enough for the amount of plastic and cardboard I’ve acquired this week.” 

“No, I can’t imagine they were,” he replies as he returns her smile. “Is there anything I can do to help around here today?” 

“You don’t need to get back to work?” 

He gathers their wrappers and empty cups. “I took the entire afternoon off, remember?” 

“I figured you meant for a long lunch break,” she replies. “Well, I planned on running around to a few stores this afternoon for odds and ends, you’re welcome to come along.”

She doesn’t expect him to agree to an afternoon of shopping, so it’s a pleasant surprise when he smiles and offers to drive. 

The mall is crowded for a Thursday afternoon, even during the holiday season. Colorful trees and garland decorate open areas and railings, while popular Christmas songs play over the low hum of the ambient noise and smell of pine, cinnamon, and Auntie Anne’s pretzels mingle in the air around them. 

Making her way to the entrance of Pottery Barn with Ben following close behind, she steps into the familiar store and takes a quick look around her. To the left, she spots a bedroom set on display and immediately makes a beeline to get a closer look at the duvet cover that catches her eye. 

“I saw this online and liked it, but I love it in person even more,” she explains as she runs her hand over the smooth material. “I know plain white is boring, but the simple pleating detail really stood out to me. This way I can pair it with some holiday colors pretty easily as well.”

“It’s nice,” he agrees. 

She turns and gives him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, this entire afternoon is probably one giant snooze fest, pun intended,” she pauses and grins at the bed they are standing beside. “I wouldn’t be offended if you ditched me and went to the Apple store or Tesla showroom.” 

He laughs and shrugs. “Those are pretty much the only two stores I’ve been in at this mall, it’s kind of nice seeing the rest.” 

“If you change your mind, just disappear, I’ll know where to find you,” she assures him. “I’m going to make sure they still have this in stock and find sheets to match.” 

Stepping away, her foot trips over the corner of the storage ottoman at the end of the bed, sending her flying towards Ben. Her hands reach out to catch herself from falling, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him backward with her until they collapse on top of the duvet. His body is almost completely covering hers and she lets out a loud grunt as the impact of his weight hits her stomach and nearly knocks the wind out of her. 

“Fuck,” he gasps as he quickly scrambles to stand. “Are you okay?” 

Pausing to catch her breath, she nods, feeling her face growing warmer under his concerned stare. “Fine. Sorry for grabbing onto you.” 

He offers his hand and helps pull her into a sitting position. “If you wanted to get me into bed, you just had to ask, Sweetheart.” 

“You’re impossible,” she sighs and stands up before turning and smoothing the rumpled bedding beneath her. Looking over at his amused expression she rolls her eyes and feels her mouth curve into a slight smile. “Come on, we still have a lot left to finish.” 

It’s hard to focus on much else that afternoon as she keeps thinking back to how his body felt pressed against hers. They’ve grown close in a short time, closer than she expected, and she’s unsure what to think of how comfortable she is with him. In some ways, it makes their whole arrangement feel natural and easy. In other ways, it’s becoming a lot harder. Especially during moments like this where she’s quick to remind herself that it isn’t real and getting feelings involved will only lead to another broken heart. 

Another voice keeps telling her that won’t happen again, that Ben isn’t Poe, but she isn’t ready to listen. 

  
  


“If it’s alright with you, I was thinking I would stay at the house over the weekend so I didn’t have to drive back and forth,” she mentions as they make their way back to his house later that afternoon.

The crew she’s hired to decorate the exterior of the house is scheduled to arrive early Saturday morning, and she has a shipment of fresh Christmas trees from a local tree farm coming in that same afternoon. With all the work she has to do still, it makes the most sense to stay at the house instead of commuting back and forth. 

It may also have to do with the fact that she’s fallen in love with the shower in the master bedroom and staying for the weekend means she’ll definitely be using it at least once or twice. 

“That’s more than alright, stay as long as you like,” he replies. 

“I just didn’t want to impose, I know you don’t technically live there, but you’re trying to get it ready to sell - I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of your -” 

“Rey,” he cuts her off gently. “Stay at my house. It’s fine.” 

She blushes and nods. “Thanks.” 

They pull into his driveway and Rey lets out a squeak as she sees a familiar shock of orange hair emerging from a Lexus parked outside the neighboring house. 

“Fuck,” she mutters. “Can you pull into the garage? My old boss Armitage is right there.” 

Ben looks to where she’s nodding and then back at her. “I don’t have the garage door opener on me,” he says apologetically. “He probably won’t notice you.” 

She peers over in Armitage’s direction again and notices he’s currently distracted hauling a gaudy silver wreath out of the backseat. “Good point, let's go.” 

He parks the car and hops out, opening the trunk before he begins to pull bags from the back. Rey grabs several, stacking them on her arms in an attempt to carry as many she can to bring everything inside in one trip. 

“You do realize that I can help with a lot of those, right?” he teases as she begins adding to her other arm. 

“Well you weren’t going fast enough,” she mutters as he begins grabbing bags of his own. 

Armitage is staring directly at her the next time she glances over in his direction.

“You okay?” Ben asks as she lets out an angry huff. 

“Kiss me!”

“What?”

“Please? Just kiss me.” 

She isn’t sure what possessed her to ask. Her former boss wasn’t aware, to her knowledge, that she was engaged, therefore they didn’t need to fake their relationship in front of him. 

Whatever the reason, kissing him seems like the right thing to do at that moment and he doesn’t hesitate at her second request. Lowering his head, his free hand comes up to cradle the side of her face as his lips press softly against hers. Coaxing her mouth open with the tip of his tongue, he deepens the kiss, tasting her slowly, pulling her as close to him as he can without crushing the large amount of bags they are holding onto. 

“Well, I can see how you got the job.” 

Their kiss is rudely interrupted by a snarky voice that sounds much closer than the next door driveway. 

Rey pulls away and turns to find Armitage standing only a few feet away with his hands on his hips. “Good evening to you too, Armitage. Can I help you with something?” 

“No, I think I have my answer now,” he smirks. 

“You have no right to make assumptions like that,” Ben joins the conversation, looking the most upset that Rey has ever seen him. “Rey is the most talented designer I know, she’s wonderful and hardworking and the fact that she’s my fiancee has nothing to do with why I hired her.” 

“Um, excuse me?” Armitage glances between the two of them. “Fiancée? You’re engaged?” 

She goes to hold up her left hand before realizing they never bought a fake ring for her to wear. 

“We are,” Ben replies before she can answer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Is that a problem?” 

“No, it’s just Rey never mentioned she was seeing anyone at work, let alone that she was engaged. We’ve had to hear _all_ about her sister and her ex-fiancé though,” Armitage rolls his eyes. “Kind of suspicious to share all of that personal information and not all of this.” He motions between the two of them before his eyes fall on her hand. “What? No ring?” 

“It’s at the jewelers, being sized,” she answers quickly. “And it’s entirely my business what personal information I do or don’t share, Armitage. Don’t think that I’ve already forgotten the Monday morning recaps of your weekend hookups.” 

Ben grips her shoulder a little bit tighter. “We have a lot to get done, so if you don’t mind.” 

Gently leading her away from Armitage, she lets out a long breath. “Sorry about that, I panicked and it probably led to more trouble than it was worth. He didn’t even know about our engagement.” 

“And yet your first reaction was to get me to kiss you?” he smirks. “I’m flattered, Jackson.” 

“Don’t get used to it, Solo,” she quips. 

  
  


****

Ben has never been one to care much about interior design. Bazine, his ex-girlfriend, had decorated most of his penthouse and while the black leather and animal prints weren’t his thing, he didn’t actually care enough to make changes. 

Not until he saw the furniture Rey had picked out to stage the house. 

Everything was warm, inviting, and comfortable in neutral colors with simple lines. Mentally he was already taking notes on all of the furniture in his penthouse that he wanted to replace with the pieces Rey had selected. 

“Can I show you something outside real quick, I need your opinion on something?” she asks as soon as they finish clearing out the empty shopping bags and boxes from the living room.

  
  


He nods and follows her out onto the back porch. Rey stops and gestures to the empty expanse in front of the outdoor fireplace. 

“I realize it’s winter, but I was thinking that a seating area here would be a good idea,” she mentions. “It isn’t one of the areas we discussed staging, but I think with the right set up we could really highlight how great this space is for entertaining and I had a few ideas for decorating to add it to the tour.” 

He loves the way her eyes light up whenever she explains another idea. 

“I think that sounds fine,” he replies, maintaining a neutral tone in an attempt not to sound too eager. “Whatever you think is best.” 

She frowns slightly at first before her lips turn upward into a smile. “Great! I’m still deciding between a few options but maybe you can help me pick later? I want to make the bed upstairs first and see how everything comes together.” 

He helps her put the sheets on the king-sized mattress before wrangling the comforter inside the duvet and adding that on top. Rey expertly arranges nearly a dozen pillows of varying sizes at the head of the bed, topping it off with a small square pillow in the front center that reads _Warm and Cozy._ After she drapes a thick knitted blanket across the foot of the bed, she steps back to admire her work. 

“What do you think?” 

“I don’t really get the point of having a hundred pillows, but it looks nice,” he comments. 

She turns to him and makes a face. “They’re just for decoration, Benjamin, you don’t actually sleep with all of them on the bed.” 

“You hardly have room to sit on the bed,” he teases, enjoying the way her nostrils flare a little at his remark. “Let alone do anything else.” 

Rey flops onto her back on the bed, leaning back against the mountain of pillows and stretching out her legs. “There’s plenty of room if you’re not a human sasquatch,” she shrugs and closes her eyes. “This mattress is everything.” 

He smiles and walks around to the other side, tossing a few of the smaller pillows to the floor and lying on his back beside her. His entire body sinks into the softness of the bed beneath him and he lets out a soft sigh. “I’m definitely stealing this mattress for my apartment, it’s way better than the one I have there.”

“Not if I steal it first,” she replies. 

“You have to get up to move it,” he reminds her. 

He hears her chuckle quietly from beside him. “That feels like an impossible task at the moment, I could fall asleep right now.” 

“It’s certainly more comfortable than the bed in the store earlier, though that may have had to do with the fact that I landed on you.” 

“Very funny,” she grumbles. 

He inches closer to her, turning on his side to face her. “Hey, I had fun with you today. Thanks for letting me help you out, even if I have horrible taste in everything.” 

“Not everything,” she grins as her eyes pop open. “I just didn’t think the pillow that said _oh what fun it is to ride_ was appropriate for an event that families attend.” 

Watching her laugh is one of his favorite things, he decides, as she erupts into another fit of giggles as she had at the store earlier when they’d seen the cheeky quote and he’d made the suggestion to add it to the master bedroom. 

“I’ll just have to get it for my apartment then.” 

They stare at one another for a moment before he begins to lean towards her again, giving in to the urge to kiss her one more time as she closes her eyes and tilts her head towards him. He can feel her breath on his lips just before his eyes flutter shut, and then it’s gone. 

When he opens his eyes she’s standing at the side of the bed looking at her watch. “I need to get home, it’s been a long day and I promised Rose an early coffee date in the morning.” 

“Oh,” he answers, hoping he doesn’t sound disappointed. “Yeah, I suppose it’s late. I should head back to my apartment as well.” 

She smiles at him. “I’ll see you downstairs, I need to go gather my things.” 

Leaning back against the pillows he lets out a quiet groan. This arrangement really wasn’t going the way he thought it was going to go. 

Not even close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux's decorations need to all fall apart. Boo. 
> 
> But yay first kiss! And almost a second...I think there is definitely something building, and quite quickly...
> 
> There absolutely is a burger place in the Seattle area called Dick's! It was founded back in the 50s and is a local favorite. I don't think I've had a chance to mention it in one of my PNW area fics yet, so this was the perfect opportunity :) 
> 
> The mall Ben and Rey shop at is Bellevue Square (and the pic of the big tree in a shopping center on the moodboard is from there) 
> 
> Thanks to my discord writing friends for helping me get this chapter done and for the idea that finally pulled it all together! You guys are truly the best!


	7. The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben introduces Rey to his parents and Rey starts to mend things with Kaydel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writer's block/motivation struggle is real! I had to break this chapter up, so I should have another update fairly quickly but my brain has been all over the place lately and I don't want to make any promises. Thank you so much for your patience (and for your comments and kudos and everything else!)

* * *

  
“Just to make sure I have this right, your father is a retired private pilot and your mother is a vice president at the University of Washington?” Rey asks nervously as they pull onto the street where his parents live in the affluent city of Medina. 

“Vice President of University Advancement, but I doubt she’ll expect you to know that,” he replies with a smile, and then reaches over to squeeze her hand. “You’ll be fine. I’m not very close with my parents. We don’t need to worry about the little things.” 

Ben watches as she takes a deep breath and nods, fisting the fabric of her dress nervously. “Okay, that’s good,” she replies. “Not the part about you not being close, but the other part.”

She’s adorable when she’s nervous. 

“I knew what you meant,” he assures her as he pulls down the long driveway and parks the car. 

His father answers the door with a nod of acknowledgment and motions for them to come into the house. The familiar entryway still smells of the same blend of vanilla and lavender that his mother has always preferred and it brings him back to his childhood. 

“Dad, this is Rey, Rey my father Han,” Ben introduces them after they’ve hung their coats in the front closet. 

Rey sticks out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, kid,” Han answers, giving her hand a firm shake. 

Ben looks around the room before turning back to his father. “Where’s mom?” 

“Your mother is fretting over dinner as usual,” Han grumbles as he leads them into the adjacent sitting room. “I was told to answer the door and ask you what you’d like to drink.” 

He grins slightly at the way his father still hates playing the host. His mother has always been the one organizing parties and affairs and dinners, much to his father’s annoyance. 

“Whiskey for me, Rey?” he turns to ask her. 

“Oh, umm, white wine?” she suggests. “Whatever you have is fine.” 

“Work going alright?” Han asks him as he hands them their drinks. 

Ben shrugs and takes a slow sip of whiskey. “Busy, as usual. How is retirement?” 

His father lowers himself into a leather armchair and grimaces. “Hate it.” 

Both of his parents were work-a-holics. Han had been gone most of the time during his childhood, off flying around the country - first for a commercial airline and then as a private pilot. His mother had always been in academic administration, and the further she grew in her career, the longer her hours had become. 

“I thought I heard new voices!” Leia swept into the room as though she towered over everyone present despite her five-foot-one stature. “It’s so good to see you, dear.” 

He stands to greet her, leaning forward to place a kiss on her cheek. 

“It’s good to see you as well,” he replies. “I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Rey Jackson.” 

Leia takes Rey’s hand between her own. “Rey, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“I’m pleased to meet you as well,” she replies. “Thank you for having me for dinner.”

His mother offers a dismissive wave. “We would have loved to have had you over sooner if my son hadn’t kept your relationship such a secret.” 

Ben rolls his eyes. _There’s_ the passive-aggressive comment he expected. He’s sure it’s not the last one of the evening either. 

They settle into conversation over drinks and appetizers as Leia asks Rey questions about her childhood, inquires about Amilyn, and finally begins making suggestions for the wedding. 

“Now Ben mentioned you were hoping for next December?” his mother asks. 

Rey shoots him a puzzled look and he shrugs. His mother had been impossibly persistent on the phone the other day and he’d thrown out the December date as a way to get her off his case. He wasn’t expecting her to run with it, but he should’ve known better. 

“It’s just an option right now, mom,” he clarifies. 

“Well you two really should decide soon, I’ve already been calling around to some venues I think would work and half of them are booked. The Four Seasons still has a Friday evening available the weekend before Christmas next year.” 

Rey looks panicked. “Oh, I don’t think we need to have that big of a wedding.” 

“How about a golf club? Or at Union Station?” His mother suggests. “There are some great barns around if you’re going for a more rustic feel. It’s too bad you’re not considering a summer garden though, this area has so many lovely outdoor venues.”

“Leia, the kids haven’t been engaged for very long,” Han interjects. “I’m sure they’ll come up with something soon.”

Ben offers his father a thankful nod of the head. “Rey was hoping to make it through the Holiday Homes Tour before we dove into wedding planning, but we appreciate all your suggestions.”

“Yes, they are wonderful, thank you,” Rey adds.

Leia drops her shoulders and gives them a small smile. “Of course. I’m getting ahead of myself, I’m just excited,” she admits before turning to Rey. “You’ll have to forgive me, dear, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. I’m so thrilled to be finally getting a daughter-in-law.”

His mother’s eagerness doesn’t surprise him, and he hopes Rey isn’t too overwhelmed by the force that is Leia Organa. 

“Is it time to eat yet?” Han asks after a moment, breaking the tension in the room. 

Dinner is a perfectly cooked prime rib with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and buttery rolls. He watches as Rey dives in, eating and chatting with his mother about her childhood. Leia had been surprised when he’d mentioned Rey was Amilyn’s foster daughter and she’d expressed an interest in catching up with her old friend. 

“Where did you go to college, dear?” Leia asks after she finishes telling Rey a story about her and Amilyn’s freshman year antics. 

“Seattle Pacific,” she answers with a smile. 

Ben stops eating and looks over at Rey. “You went to SPU?” 

He was nearly ten years her senior so their paths wouldn’t have crossed on the small campus, but he’s surprised he didn’t know it was her alma mater as well before then. 

“I did, did you?” she replies with a grin. 

“Are you two just now figuring this out?” his father asks skeptically. 

“Well, we wouldn’t have been there at the same time, I graduated in 2009,” Ben reminds him.

“I was the class of 2018,” Rey adds. “I guess it’s never come up before.”

Han shrugs and returns to his meal and Ben lets out a small sigh of relief. If his mother had a comment, she was thankfully keeping it to herself. Instead, Leia continued the conversation with Rey, moving on to inquiring about her career and what she hoped to do in the future. 

Every so often he’d catch her eye and offer her an apologetic glance. He was going to owe her big time for making it through twenty questions with his mother. 

“Is that gingerbread house actually edible?” Rey whispers as she eyes the impressive structure displayed on the buffet beside them as they finish eating dessert. 

Ben grins slightly and nods. “A ridiculously pretentious one, but yes.” 

“What are you two chatting about over there?” Leia asks. 

“Oh, I was just asking about the gingerbread house. I’ve never seen one like it before. Did you create it yourself?” 

Han lets out a snort. “Not exactly.” 

“Unfortunately, I am not artistic or creative so I bought this one already assembled,” Leia replies, shooting her husband a glare. “I’m sure with your design background that you make beautiful gingerbread homes.” 

“I’ve never made one before,” Rey answers. 

Ben looks at her curiously. “Not even as a child in elementary school? You never glued questionably stale graham crackers to milk cartons?” 

“I went to school in a low-income rural area; we were lucky to have books,” she mumbles. 

Rey had told him a little about her past in earlier conversations. How she’d never known her real parents and how she only had a blur of memories bouncing around foster families before meeting Amilyn in middle school and finally finding a stable home. 

An idea comes to mind, and he quickly files it away for later. 

“Ben, can I get your help with something upstairs before you go?” his mother asks as they return to the living room after they’ve finished eating dessert. 

He nods and follows her up the staircase to his parent’s master bedroom. Leia walks into the walk-in closet and emerges moments later holding a green velvet pouch. 

“I noticed Rey doesn’t have a ring yet. Now, I don’t know what your plans are, but if you need one, you might consider offering her this,” she says as she overturns the bag into her open palm. 

His grandmother’s engagement ring. 

“Your mother’s ring?” he asks, swallowing nervously. “Are you sure?” 

Leia snorts. “Unless I have another son out there who needs this for _his_ fiance, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one to give it to. Do you think Rey would like to wear it?” 

He finds himself nodding. “I think she would.”

“Perfect!” his mother beams. “It’s settled then. Grandma Breha would have loved her, and she’d be thrilled to know her little Benny is giving her ring to his bride.” 

She slips the ring back into the pouch and hands it to him. 

“Thank you,” he murmurs, tucking the bag in his jacket pocket. 

  
  


“You’re acting weird, is everything okay?” Rey asks as she and Ben enter his house. 

“I’m fine,” he replies before placing his hand on her arm and stopping her just inside the entryway. “I have something for you.” 

It’s a fake engagement, they’ve discussed needing a ring, granted it’s not the costume jewelry she suggested, but it’s a ring all the same. He can’t help but feel nervous like he’s actually proposing for real. 

“You do, do you?” 

Her face lights up as she turns to face him. 

“Close your eyes and hold out your left hand.”

She obeys and he pulls the pouch from his jacket, removing the tiny ring and slipping it onto her finger. 

“Ben? What is this?” her voice falters slightly as she looks down at her hand. 

“It was my grandmother’s ring, my mother wanted you to have it.”

“I can’t wear this,” she shakes her head and goes to pull it off her finger. 

He places his hand over hers. “Yes, you can. You need a ring, and I have one to give you.”

“But it’s a family ring, Ben, this is too much.” 

“It makes this look more believable.” 

She pauses for a moment, glancing down at the antique ring. “I suppose.” 

“Don’t overthink it, it looks nice on you,” he insists. 

Rey gives him a soft smile. “It’s a really beautiful ring,” she agrees. “Thank you for letting me borrow it.” 

His stomach flips, and not in a good way, at the way she says the word _borrow._

  
  


****

A steady pounding of hammers and shuffling of footsteps on the roof provide the soundtrack for her Saturday afternoon. The crew to put up the exterior lights arrived early that morning, and the Christmas trees for various rooms in the house were delivered just moments before: a fifteen-foot tall tree for the living room, and several smaller trees for various other areas of the house. 

  
  


**Amilyn: How are things going?**

Her phone buzzes just as she’s finished stringing lights on the second tree later that afternoon. Taking a seat on one of the dining room chairs, she types out a reply.

_Rey: They’re going. The trees were delivered today and I’ve put lights on two, four more to go, including the massive one in the living room_

**Amilyn: Would you like some help? Kaydel and I are in the area shopping. She and Poe returned from their honeymoon late last night and I was telling her about the tour**

Rey stares at her phone for a moment. 

_Rey: I don’t know if I’m ready to spend time with her_

**Amilyn: You two are going to need to talk this out eventually, she only wants to help**

She thinks it over before sending a response

_Rey: Alright_

**Amilyn: Perfect! We’ll be there within the hour, did you need me to bring anything?**

_Rey: I’m fine for now. See you soon_

“This house is amazing!” Amilyn announces as she enters through the front door with Kaydel in tow. 

“Isn’t it?” Rey greets her with a hug. “Thank you for coming.” 

She looks around Amilyn to see Kaydel standing several feet behind her. “Hi, Rey,” she smiles. “Thanks for letting me come.” 

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” Rey answers shortly. 

Amilyn lets out a long sigh. “Rey, please. I thought we were going to try and move forward.”

She knows deep down that she’s moved on already. Her relationship with Poe would never have worked out, they both liked the _idea_ of each other, but the reality would have been a disappointment. It’s easier to be stubborn though, especially with how things ended between them.

“I’m sorry, this is just hard for me,” she admits. “I really do appreciate the help, Kaydel, thank you.” 

Kaydel comes and stands beside Amilyn. “You’re welcome, it’s the least I can do after everything.”

“You mean after stealing my fiancee and alienating me from my family? I lost Poe, I lost you, and I couldn’t even talk to Amilyn because I hated putting her in the middle of everything, do you realize how hard that was?” 

Her words come out faster than expected, months of built-up resentment pouring out of her. 

“You’re right,” Kaydel agrees. “It wasn’t fair, and I don’t know how I can make it better, but I want to try.”

Amilyn grabs each of their hands. “Why don’t we start with today and go from there.” 

She nods and Kaydel does the same. 

“Okay,” she agrees. 

“Excellent!” Amilyn grins. “Now, what do we need to do?” 

Rey shows them where the trees are and hands them boxes of lights to finish lighting the trees. Kaydel heads upstairs to tackle the tree in the bedroom while Amilyn heads into the downstairs office to put lights on the tree there. While they are busy with the lights, Rey begins to sort through the boxes of ornaments she ordered. 

When she’s finishing sorting the ornaments for each tree, Kaydel returns to the living room. 

“I finished the tree in the playroom,” she explains. “Also, I hope you don't mind, but I took a look around, and you’ve done such an incredible job so far. Amilyn mentioned you weren’t just decorating for the holidays, but also staging to put on the market soon? I can’t believe you two are selling this place! It’s the perfect home for a family.” 

She reminds herself that Kaydel thinks her engagement to Ben is real. 

“It’s a lot of house for just the two of us,” she answers. “I don’t think we’ll have kids for a while.”

Kaydel tilts her head to the side and frowns. “That’s too bad. Poe and I want to start trying soon, I was hoping we’d have kids at the same time so the cousins could grow up together!” 

“What are you two talking about?” Amilyn asks as she enters the room. 

“I was just telling Rey that I couldn’t believe they were planning to sell this place, isn’t it such a great house for kids?” 

Amilyn gives her a knowing smirk. “It does have a lot of space to grow,” she agrees. “Though I suspect Rey wants to focus on the wedding first.” 

“Of course,” Kaydel replies, glancing down at Rey’s hand. “Oh! I still haven’t seen your ring!” 

Rey holds out her left hand and watches as Amilyn and Kaydel lean in to admire the cushion cut diamond set in an intricate platinum band. 

“It’s so beautiful, it looks like an antique!” Kaydel says as she examines the detailed band. 

“It was his grandmothers,” she explains. 

“Breha’s ring?” Amilyn asks knowingly. 

“Leia gave it to Ben to give to me,” Rey answers. “She gave me her number to pass along to you, she wants to get back in touch.” 

Amilyn smiles. “I’d love to reconnect, it’s been so long.” 

They spend the rest of the afternoon working on decorating the smaller trees around the house while Rey dodges wedding planning questions with vague answers and half-truths. By the time the sun is beginning to set, she’s been roped into meeting with a wedding planner and picking a date to go dress shopping. 

Not that she’ll actually have to do those things, they’ll know the truth by this time next week.

“You have to come out to dinner with us,” Kaydel urges as they finish adding ornaments to the last tree. 

Rey shakes her head. “I have too much to get done still,” she replies. “I appreciate the offer though, really.”

“Another time, then,” Amilyn agrees as she hugs her. “I’m so happy the two of you are talking again.”

“Me too,” Kaydel agrees. “I’ve missed you, Rey.” 

She takes a deep breath, letting a half-smile form on her lips. “Thank you both for coming over and helping, I couldn’t have gotten this much done on my own.”

“Please let us know when we can help again, I’m sure this is going to be a busy week for you,” Amilyn adds as she slips her coat over her shoulders. “And you’re sure you don’t want to come to dinner?”

“I’m sure,” Rey answers. 

She hugs them both goodbye, Kaydel more reluctantly than Amilyn, and watches them get into Amilyn’s car and drive away from the house. 

They still need time to heal, but for the first time in months, she starts to feel like she can finally move forward. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love that these two are starting to admit more to themselves that there might just be something there...hmm...


	8. The Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben surprises Rey and they grow even closer, an important conversation is had with Kaydel, and an evening is spent decorating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I lost my groove writing this fic for a while - but I think it's back now. This is just a fun little Hallmark inspired bit of fluff (and it's almost a borderline crack fic at this point, haha). Please don't take the storyline too seriously - it's not meant to be super realistic and I still haven't explained a lot of the backstory (though more is revealed this chapter!) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

* * *

  
Ben’s Tesla is in the driveway when she returns from picking up Indian food for dinner. Feeling her lip quirk into a half-smile, she parks beside his car and steps out, grabbing the plastic bag of to-go containers and making her way up the lighted path to the front door. 

“I didn’t think you were coming by this weekend,” Rey calls as she steps into the entryway. 

Continuing through the living room and into the kitchen, she stops in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Bags of frosting and containers of brightly colored candies cover the entire island counter, and in the center of it all sits a massive, undecorated gingerbread house. 

“What is this?” she asks, setting her dinner down on the table beside her. 

“You mentioned that you’d never made a gingerbread house before, so I thought you might want to give it a try,” he explains. “I thought you could display it somewhere for the tour if you like how it turns out.” 

Rey smiles as she takes in the assortment of treats in front of her, her mind going wild with ideas. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” she replies softly. “This must have cost a fortune.”

“The kits at the grocery store looked too small,” he shrugs. “I called in a favor to a local baker and ordered the candy online, I hope there’s enough.”

“We could decorate five of these houses with all of this,” she laughs. “It’s perfect, Ben. Thank you so much.” 

Ben walks around the island to hug her. “You’re welcome. I owe you so much for everything you’ve done here,” he murmurs, “and for surviving dinner with my parents.” 

“They weren’t that bad,” she teases. “Speaking of family, Amilyn brought Kaydel over this afternoon for another reconciliation attempt.” 

A look of concern crosses his face. “Are you ready to mend things with her?” 

Rey grabs her dinner and motions for him to follow her to the kitchen table. “Yes, and no,” she explains as she begins setting out the to-go containers. “I’m not mad anymore, and I’ve told Amilyn as much, but she’s always been big on keeping the peace. I think she is taking that, along with the fact that I’m over Poe, as a sign that I’m ready to forgive and forget everything with Kaydel.”

“Even if she means well, it’s not fair to you,” he replies, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. 

“Thank you,” she whispers as she leans into his embrace. “I want to talk to her about it, but right now I just want to focus on getting through the tour.” 

“If you need to vent, I’m here,” he assures her. “Also, I’m glad you’re over Poe. You’re too good for him. I’m clearly the much better choice.”

Rey laughs at his teasing tone and begins to open the first container of food. “Are you hungry? I ordered way too much.”

  
  


An hour and a half later the kitchen is a mess with open bags of candy strewn across the surface of the island. Rey stands on a stool, bent over to pipe icing along the seam of the roof of her gingerbread house as Ben carefully places alternating red and green candies before the frosting can dry. 

“There,” she grins once they finish. “I think that turned out really well!” 

He grabs her hand and helps her down from the stool. “What do we need to do next?” 

She pauses and looks over the partially completed structure. They’d decorated the roof, and the sides, but the front was bare. “I’m still deciding. I think I want to mimic the decorations I have on the outside of this house, but right now I need a break.” 

“Wine?” he asks, walking over to the rack and selecting a bottle of red. 

“You know the way to my heart, Solo,” she grins. 

Rey cleans up the candy strewn about the island and moves the partially completed gingerbread house to a side counter as Ben opens the wine. 

“I’m having a really fun time with you tonight,” she mentions casually as she wipes a damp paper towel across the marble surface, cleaning up the last of the spilled frosting. 

Ben smiles at her as he hands her a glass. “Same here, I’m really glad I decided to come and surprise you.” 

“I needed it today,” she answers, taking a sip of her drink. “Don’t let me keep you if you need to get back home, I can handle the rest of the cleanup.”

“I’m in no rush,” he assures her. “I was actually thinking that I should see _White Christmas_ , would you like to watch it with me?” 

“I’d love to, but unless you have a TV hiding in a closet somewhere, the only screen I have is my iPad.” 

“Works for me,” he replies with a shrug. 

She glances over at the mess of boxes and bags all over the living room. “We’ll have to watch it upstairs, the couch in the master bedroom isn’t covered in ornaments and lights.” 

“Trying to get me into your bedroom?” he teases. 

“It’s your bedroom,” she shoots back with a playful roll of her eyes. “And you wish.” 

He finishes off his glass of wine. “Maybe I do.” 

“You’re impossible,” she laughs. 

It’s only slightly awkward when they wake up in a tangled mess of legs and arms on the couch the following morning. Somewhere during the latter half of the movie, they’d both drifted off to sleep. Rey tries to recall the last scene of the movie she remembers, but it’s all a hazy blur of tap dancing and familiar music. 

“Well, at least you can say you’ve seen part of _White Christmas_ now,” she yawns as she stands up, stretching out her cramped limbs. 

“I’ll have to finish the rest of it another time,” he agrees as he stands to join her. “Shit, I need to get going.”

Rey glances down at her watch, it’s nearly eight in the morning. “Do you have time for me to make coffee first?” 

“I wish,” he tells her apologetically. “I have a meeting at 9:30 and I still need to go home and change. Raincheck for the next time we have an impromptu sleepover?” 

“If you’re lucky.”

Ben regards her with a curious expression before leaning forward and lightly kissing the side of her temple. “I’ll see you later.” 

*

She’s in the middle of finishing the front of her gingerbread house when the doorbell rings a couple of hours later. Wiping the frosting from her hands with a paper towel, she heads to the entryway and opens the front door to find a familiar figure standing there. 

“Kaydel? What are you doing here?” 

“I’m sorry to drop by unannounced, but I wanted to talk to you. Is that alright?” 

Rey nods, stepping back to let her walk through the door. 

“I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” she says quickly. “I should have told Amilyn that it wasn’t a good idea to bring me, and I shouldn’t be pushing you or letting her push you.” They walk into the living room and take a seat on the couch as Kay continues to explain. “I’ve been so selfish, Rey, not just because of Poe but with expecting you to forgive me for what happened.” 

Rey regards her for a moment. “You’re right,” she replies. “it’s been completely unfair to expect that of me, especially after what happened.”

“I know, it never should have happened that way, you have to know I didn’t ever want to hurt you.” 

“But you did.” She swallows back a lump in her throat. “Poe and I would never have worked in the long run, we knew that all along, I’m sure he’s mentioned as much to you.”

Kaydel nods, “he says you two liked the idea of each other more than the reality.”

She’s momentarily stunned to hear that Poe had come to the same conclusion that she had. “You two are perfect for one another, but the way he ended his relationship with me and started something new with you almost immediately? You didn’t think that would hurt?”

“I was too wrapped up in myself.” Her voice is quiet and she looks up at Rey with a regretful expression. 

“I know.” Rey lets out a deep breath and taps her fingers on the arm of the couch. “Plus to have Amilyn always trying to meddle and fix things, it’s been a lot.”

“I confronted Amilyn when we went out to dinner last night. I didn’t realize how much she was pushing you to fix things between us,” Kaydel admits. “I want you to know that I never asked her to take my side. She was so angry with me when she found out that Poe and I were together and so protective of you. Things were tense between us for a long time. ”

Rey lets out a sigh. “I knew she was upset at first, but she seemed to get over it quickly and once I admitted I was over Poe, she started trying to get me to forgive you.” 

“That explains why she insisted we invite you to the wedding,” Kaydel sighs, awkwardly picking at her nails. “Poe and I wanted you there, but we didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Amilyn assured us that you would want to come.” 

“A big part of me did,” she confesses. “But it was so soon and with the timing of everything? I’ve been dreaming of a December wedding my entire life, Kay! Why then?” 

“I promise that we weren’t planning on it, but then the venue had a cancellation for that weekend and offered it to us. We rushed into planning and didn’t think it through,” she replies. “Things weren’t handled well at all.” 

“You can say that again,” Rey agrees. 

Kaydel reaches over and grabs her hand. “I don’t expect your forgiveness until you’re ready, and I am so sorry for not thinking about your feelings. God, Rey, you must think I’m the worst.” 

She chokes back a sob. “You really hurt me, Kaydel. Even if breaking things off with Poe was the best choice, it should have been on my terms.”

“I know,” Kaydel agrees softly. 

“You two are happy though?” she asks after a moment. 

“So happy,” she replies. “Maybe not as happy as you and Ben though. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone so in love with someone as he is with you. The way he looked at you at our wedding? I couldn’t stop telling Poe about how excited I was for the two of you the whole week of our honeymoon. It's amazing you two kept your relationship a secret for so long, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised with how angry you both were with us.”

That was news to her. 

“Ben was angry?” 

Kaydel nods her head. “You knew that Ben went off on Poe when he found out he’d dumped you and started dating me, right? Poe still asked Ben to be the best man at our wedding and he refused, they’ve hardly talked since. He is absolutely over the moon for you.” 

Suddenly Ben’s confession that he’d had a falling out with Poe makes more sense, and her brain struggles to wrap around the fact that he’d been _that_ upset on her behalf. 

“Oh, right, he’s pretty protective of me,” she answers quickly, realizing she’s been sitting quietly for too long. “I need to get ready to run an errand downtown, but I appreciate you coming by.”

“Of course,” Kaydel says as she stands. “I’ll give you space until you’re ready, okay?”

“Why don’t we start slow and get together for coffee next week?” she suggests. “I don’t want to be mad at you forever. Remember our old saying? Sisters before misters?” 

“Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister,” Kaydel sings softly. 

“And Lord help the sister, who comes between me and my man.” Rey finishes with a raised eyebrow. 

“I deserve that call out,” Kaydel laughs. 

“You do, but I love you.” Rey agrees and stands to gather Kaydel in a hug. “Just give me a little more time. Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

*

“Thanks for meeting me here,” Finn greets her with a hug by the entrance to Pike Place Market later that afternoon. “I have no idea what to get Rose, and I want it to be perfect.”

“She’s going to love whatever you get her,” Rey assures him. “But I’m happy to help and I’ve been meaning to come down here and see if I can’t find anything else for the house.”

“How is that going, by the way? Rosie says you’re never at the apartment anymore.” 

“It’s so much work, but it’s almost done,” she grins. “I hope it impresses all the right people.”

“I’m sure it will,” he agrees, returning her smile. 

They make their way into the crowds, passing by stalls of flowers and artwork and other odds and ends and she points out various ideas. A hand-stamped crescent-shaped necklace on a simple cord catches her eye and she plucks it off a display and holds it up to Finn. “This is totally her style.”

“That’s perfect!” Finn agrees, taking the necklace from her and examining the pendant closely. 

“Rose will love it,” she agrees. “Now hurry up and pay, we have a few more stops to make.” 

While he buys the present for Rose, Rey wanders to the stall next door, the various bright floral arrangements catching her eye. It’s too early in the week to buy fresh flowers, but she makes a mental note to come back early on Friday morning and buy several of the gorgeous centerpieces to display around the house. 

Pulling her phone from her pocket to take a few pictures of her favorite bouquets, she notices a missed text. 

**Ben: I’ll likely be working late this evening, so I don’t think I’ll be able to make it by the house later to help.**

She frowns. Putting lights on the fifteen-foot tree in the living room is definitely a two-person job. 

_Rey: That’s okay. I’ll see you another day this week, then?_

**Ben: Of course. I hope you’re having a good day.**

_Rey: You too._

“Alright, necklace bought, now what?” Finn approaches her with a smile, holding up a small burgundy plastic bag. 

“I know where her favorite chocolate shop is,” she grins. “But first, I have a small favor to ask of you. Are you busy after work this evening?”

Finn shakes his head. “Nope, what do you need?” 

“Ben was supposed to come over to the house and help with stringing lights on the tree in the living room. It’s massive and I can’t do it on my own.”

“Say no more,” he stops her. “I’d be happy to help. I can be there by six, is that okay?” 

She smiles. “That’s perfect. I’ll pick up some beer and order a pizza and ask Rose if she wants to join us. We’ll make it a party.” 

  
  


Christmas music blares from the portable speaker on the mantle, the enthusiastic beat of _Rockin’ Around the Clock_ is particularly fitting for the moment. Rey stands perched on a ladder, carefully weaving a strand of lights through the branches before handing it off to Finn on the other side. 

“This is why I buy the pre-lit fake tree,” he teases lightheartedly as he begins placing the lights on his side. 

“Fake trees don’t smell like real ones though,” she replies. “It’s so worth it.”

He’s about to reply again when the front door opens and the sound of heavy footsteps sound in the entryway. 

“Ben!” Rey calls out as he walks into the living room. “What are you doing here?” 

“I got off work earlier than I thought and wanted to come help, but it looks like you’ve already found some.” 

His tone is sharp and she nearly reels back at how upset he seems. 

At that moment, Rose returns from the bathroom and Rey sighs, pointing between her and Finn. “Finn _and_ Rose came to help. Rose, my roommate, and Finn, our neighbor and her boyfriend.”

He gives her an apologetic expression and walks over to the ladder to shake Finn’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.” 

“Hey, no worries, I get it,” Finn assures him. “It’s nice to finally meet you as well. Congratulations on the fake engagement.”

Ben grins. “Thanks. She’s the best fake fiancee a guy could ask for,” he replies. 

Rey feels her stomach flutter as he looks directly at her and shoves that feeling to the side. Adjusting her position on the top of the ladder, she shakes the strand of lights she’s currently holding and clears her throat. 

“You all can get to know one another better while we finish lighting the tree,” she grins. 

Two hours later, the four of them are sprawled out on the large sectional in the living room glancing up at the fully lit tree that bathes the entire room in a soft glow. It was nice to spend an evening where they didn’t have to pretend to be engaged. There were no stories to keep straight or questions to answer about a wedding that would never take place. 

She feels completely at ease with Ben in front of her friends. 

And when Rose pulls her aside before they leave and asks her if she’s falling in love, Rey doesn’t even try to deny it this time. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's got it bad, lol! 
> 
> And yes that absolutely cheesy moment of Kaydel and Rey singing Sisters, Sisters from White Christmas was 100% necessary. I make no apologies for my ridiculous fluff ;-)


	9. The Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more important conversations and a whole lot of last-minute preparation before the Holiday Home Tour begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait! A combo of writer's block and life hit and I'm slowly getting things finished on this fic.

* * *

  
“Knock, knock.”

Ben looks up to find Poe Dameron standing in the doorway to his office, leaning against the frame with a grin on his face.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, motioning for him to come inside and take a seat. 

“I was in the area and I thought I’d stop by and bother you in person,” he explains as he sits in a chair on the other side of the desk. “We need to talk, Solo. If our girls can start working all of this shit out, so can we.” 

Letting out a sigh, Ben turns off his computer monitor and nods. “Fair enough.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Of _course,_ Poe would go right for the direct questions. 

“We didn’t tell anyone,” he answers. “It wasn’t even our plan to announce the news until after your wedding. It just slipped out.” 

“Well, that too,” Poe smirks. “But I’m not asking about your engagement. Why didn’t you tell me that you were in love with Rey?” 

He isn’t sure how to answer and gives Poe a shrug. 

The night the two of them had met Rey at the bar was the week he’d broken up with his last girlfriend and he wasn’t ready to think about beginning a new relationship. Poe, on the other hand, was his usual charming self and had instantly captured Rey’s attention. Ben figured it would be another one of Poe’s short flings. His constant travel for work had always kept him from settling down for longer than a night or two. 

Somehow, things had worked out between them, and before he knew it, Poe had called to announce their engagement. 

“I think if I had been at a different point in my life the night we met, you would have had some competition for her,” he admits. 

“And you would have won, hands down,” Poe admits with a grin. “Listen, I love Rey, I’ll always love her, but I don’t think I was ever _in love_ with her and I know she feels the same way. We loved the idea of one another and our relationship was easy because we hardly saw each other. It was comfortable and familiar and getting married seemed like a logical next step.”

“And then you met Kaydel,” Ben adds. 

“Then I met Kaydel,” he confirms. “I didn’t mean to let everything get out of hand so quickly or to hurt Rey in the process though. I’m not proud of that. It was a shitty thing to put her through and I know it’s caused a rift in her family.” 

Ben nods. “She’s finally starting to talk with Kaydel and she still has to work things out with Amilyn. It’s been difficult for her.”

Poe swallows and lets out a sigh as he gives a nod of acknowledgment before speaking. 

“You know, at first I didn’t understand why you were so mad, or why you turned down being my best man. Then I found out that the two of you were in love and everything made sense,” he explains, stopping to take a deep breath before he continues. “I’m glad you’re her person - you two are perfect for each other.”

Ben smiles softly. “She’s pretty special.”

“She is,” Poe agrees. “I can’t believe no one had any idea that the two of you were seeing one another though. When did that start?” 

They’d always been purposefully vague about exact dates when talking with others and he wasn’t about to change that now. “A couple of months back, it happened quickly - you know how it goes.”

“I do,” Poe chuckles. “I proposed to Kaydel after a month, if that? God, I can’t even remember now. When you know, you know, right?” 

He does. 

“Right.” 

“Anyway,” Poe continues after a brief moment of silence between them. “Kaydel and I would love to get together with you two once things are a bit more settled. There’s no rush, but we used to be best friends and Kaydel and Rey are sisters. I don’t want to spend the rest of our lives awkwardly crossing paths with one another.”

“I don’t want that either,” he agrees. “Let me talk with Rey and we’ll get back to you. I don’t want to speak for her, but I think we both need more time.” 

“Of course,” Poe replies, standing up and offering his hand. “I should get out of your hair, but I was in the area and couldn’t resist stopping in to see you.” 

Ben stands and leans over the desk to shake Poe’s hand. “I’m glad you did,” he answers honestly. 

The rest of the day crawls by slowly as his thoughts keep drifting back to Rey. He’s finally stopped denying to himself that he’s in love with her and that he wants her in his life forever. He wants to tell her, but he can’t. Not now. 

Especially not after the conversation they had the previous evening. 

_“We need to decide how we’re going to stage our break-up,” Rey mentioned as she stood at the sink washing serving pieces for the dining room table._

_He looked up and frowned briefly. “Oh, right. I’m not very good at that sort of thing. Whatever you think is best, I’ll just go along with it.”_

_His inner voice had pleaded with him to admit how he felt right then and there. He didn’t listen._

_“Well, obviously I’d like to wait until I see what happens with Lando,” she continued. “I suppose we can quietly announce that things didn’t work out sometime next week if he offers me a job this weekend.”_

_“Christmas is next week,” he added softly. “I know my parents were looking forward to having us for dinner.”_

_Rey looked at him for a moment, almost seeming to hesitate. “I don’t think dragging this out through Christmas is a good idea, Ben.”_

_He nodded. “Right. I guess that makes sense.”_

_It did, even if he didn’t agree._

_“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she replied, rinsing the soapy foam from a serving platter. “After the weekend, we’ll let our friends and family know and go from there. Of course, I’ll stay on to help finish staging before you put the house on the market. It’s not like we aren’t still friends.”_

_She gave him a cheeky smile and turned off the sink, setting the last of the dishes on the counter beside her to dry._

There had been something in her tone that he couldn’t put a finger on - almost as though she was trying to convince herself that she was making the right decision. She was so insistent on sticking with the plan, and he couldn’t help but take it personally that she only seemed to care about getting the job with Lando. 

It hurts even more now that he’s finally admitted to himself that he’s madly in love with her. 

By the time he arrives at the house that evening, it’s already dark. The exterior glows with warm white bulbs that decorate the trim and matching lights that twist around the various trees and bushes in the front yard. It’s timeless and beautiful, a stark contrast from the colorful and flashy displays on the houses surrounding them. 

“Welcome home!” Rey greets him with a smile as he walks through the front door to find her in the dining room just off the entryway. 

“You’ve done an amazing job,” he compliments as he looks around the room. 

The table is set for Christmas dinner with matching table linens and dishes and a centerpiece of seasonal greenery and candles. 

“It’s not too much?” she asks as she bites her lip nervously. “I don’t usually go for such an extravagant display, but it fits the space and the occasion.”

“Not at all, it looks perfect. My mother will definitely approve,” he assures her. “How is everything else? Are you ready for tomorrow?” 

Rey shrugs. “I still have several things to get done tomorrow, but I think I’ll be able to finish before the tour starts.”

He can hear the hesitation in her voice and an idea pops into his head. 

“Let me run upstairs and change out of my work clothes and then I can assist with anything you need tonight, would that help?” he asks. 

She smiles and nods. “It would, thank you,” she agrees. “Meet me outside after you’re done.”

Ben steps forward and presses a chaste kiss to the top of her head. “Be right there.”

As soon as she slips out the front door he pulls his phone from his pocket and begins typing a new message. 

****

“Is this all you’re doing for the exterior?” 

Rey turns to find Armitage walking up the driveway with an unimpressed sneer on his face. 

“It’s simple and classic.” She doesn’t even bother to hide her annoyance, letting her eyes roll slightly as she glances over towards the house he’s decorating and the multiple giant colorful light displays and projections flashing across the exterior. “Sometimes less is more.”

“And sometimes less is _less,”_ he shoots back. “The tour is all about making impressions and this isn’t doing anything for me.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not trying to _impress_ you, then,” she sighs. “Did you need anything? Or did you come over here just to be an ass?” 

Armitage pretends he’s offended by her words. “I came over here to wish you luck. You’re so inexperienced and out of your league in something like this, it can’t be easy. Don’t take it too personally if no one shows any interest this weekend, the competition is tough and your skill is a bit lacking.”

She feels the anger begin to rise and a snarky reply is on her tongue when she’s interrupted.

“Hello, darling.” 

Ben wraps his arms around her from behind, his breath is warm against her ear as he nuzzles his face into the side of her neck. Without thinking she turns to face him and their lips meet in a slow kiss. 

“Ben,” she murmurs against his mouth. 

It’s so easy to forget this is all just pretend. _Too_ easy. 

“Well, that’s my hint to leave,” Armitage wrinkles his nose in disgust. 

She doesn’t even acknowledge him, she’s too busy kissing Ben to care. 

“Shit, sorry,” she breaks apart after a moment, stepping back to put space between them. “I shouldn’t have kissed you again.”

“I figured we were supposed to kiss in front of your former boss, it’s practically tradition now,” he grins before adding softly. “And you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Still,” she argues. “He’s one of the few people we don’t have to pretend around.”

He steps towards her and places a hand on her shoulder. “Rey, trust me. It’s fine,” he assures her. “Now, what can I help you with?” 

*

She wakes up the following morning to the smell of coffee and Ben Solo standing in the kitchen. 

A Ben Solo who is _supposed_ to be at work. 

“What are you doing here?” she yawns, taking a seat on one of the stools at the island.

“You seemed stressed about finishing everything before I left last night, so I took the day off to help you.” 

Rey feels her heart swell a bit. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” 

She pauses for a moment and smiles softly. 

“Thank you, Ben.”

“Anytime, Rey,” he replies and holds up the French press. “Coffee?” 

“I’m gonna need more than coffee,” she teases. 

“I know, that’s why I have food on the way,” he replies with a smirk. 

Rolling her eyes, she points to the massive refrigerator behind him. “You ordered food? We have plenty of stuff to make breakfast here.” 

“And make a big mess to clean up while you are already worried about getting everything else ready?” he tells her with a knowing look. 

"Good point."

  
  


When the doorbell rings, Ben rushes to answer it, insisting she stay and finish her coffee. He returns to the kitchen after a few moments followed by Han and Leia and several bags of food. 

“Surprise! Breakfast and more help!” He grins. 

“Ben mentioned you loved waffles and bacon, so we have plenty of both. There’s also eggs, hash browns, and sausage too,” Leia adds as she and Han set multiple containers of food on the island counter. “Oh and some questionably fresh melon; you might want to skip that just to be safe.” 

“This is an insane amount of food,” she laughs. 

“Does she not know?” Leia turns and asks Ben. 

“Do I not know, what?” Rey looks at him with a curious expression. “What’s going on?” 

Ben gives her a sheepish grin. “I may have asked a few others to come and help out as well. Rose, Finn, Poe, Kaydel, and Amilyn are on the way as well.” 

“Are you serious?” she smiles in return. 

“I hope that’s alright. I thought the more people we had to make sure everything ran smoothly today, the more you’d be able to enjoy yourself.” 

“It’s more than fine, thank you so much,” she assures him.

She’d talked with Amilyn over the phone a couple of days earlier and had a heart to heart with her foster mom about how everything had been handled. Amilyn had been quick to admit she was wrong by trying to push her and Kaydel to reconcile before she was ready and promised to step back and let them work things out in their own time. 

The rest of the group arrives and they gather around the island talking and eating breakfast before splitting off to tackle the various items that are left on Rey’s to-do list. 

Amilyn and Kaydel leave to pick up a few last-minute things that they’ll need for the tour, Finn and Han head outside to finish the last of the landscaping projects, Poe and Ben install speakers around the house, and Leia and Rose help with the last-minute cleanup and decorations. 

“I can’t believe my son is going to sell this place,” Leia sighs as they finish tidying the kitchen together. “I know that it’s ridiculously large for one person, but it won’t be just him for much longer. Also, I don’t want to assume _too_ much but somewhere down the line the extra space may be nice.” 

Rey blushes at the hint towards future grandchildren and the idea of living in this house with Ben and raising their children together here. She pushes it to the back of her mind before she can dwell on it for too long.

“Even for a family of six this house is huge,” Rose laughs. “Can you imagine keeping this place clean?”

“It’s not so bad. Ben hires a cleaning crew,” Rey argues. 

She isn’t sure why she’s suddenly defensive of the size of the house. 

Rose looks at her for a moment and then raises an eyebrow with a smirk. 

“Where to next?” Leia asks, thankfully changing the subject. 

“If you could go through any of the rooms that are furnished and make sure everything looks alright, that would be helpful,” she explains. “I need to move my things into one of the rooms we aren’t using for the tour.” 

She runs up the stairs and takes a deep breath once she’s inside the double doors to the master suite. 

“Doing okay, sunshine?” 

Rey jumps at the sound of Poe’s voice. 

“Fuck, Poe, you scared the shit out of me. What are you doing up here?” 

“Helping Ben and Han with the speaker installation. The master bedroom is now the proud owner of surround sound,” he grins. 

“One more thing to check off the list. Thanks for coming and helping, it’s good to see you,” she tells him. 

“It’s good to see you too,” he replies. “I should probably head back downstairs and see what else they need me for.”

“Oh, right,” she answers. “Can you tell Ben to let me know when the rest of the speakers are installed so I can test my playlist for tonight?” 

“Sure thing,” he agrees as he turns to leave before stopping and looking back at her. “Hey, Rey?”

“Yeah?” 

“I’m really happy for you and Ben, he’s perfect for you. It should have always been him.”

She nods and offers a small smile. “Yeah, it should have.” 

When he disappears down the hallway, Rey shuts the door softly and pushing the lock into place before tears start to fall down her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. So ridiculous. A single brain cell to share! But, it wouldn't be a Hallmark inspired fic without the ridiculous drama.
> 
> There are only two chapters to go (and one is the epilogue, so I think it's safe to say a lot will be resolved in the next update...) I should have chapter ten out soon - it's much longer than the other chapters I've posted so far, so it will take a bit longer to edit, but it's mostly written. 
> 
> Thanks so much for all the love!


	10. The Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Holiday Home Tour begins, Rey finds herself growing nervous over her future in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever, I am so sorry! Life has been absolutely crazy lately and writer's block is the worst. To make up for it, have an extra-long chapter AND we finally earn that E rating 
> 
> (note: for those who wish to skip the smut, it's at the very bottom of the chapter after the ** break)

* * *

  
“Rey?”

The door handle rattles ten minutes later, followed shortly by a few soft knocks before Ben’s voice comes from the other side of the door. 

_Fuck._

She frantically looks around for something to dry her eyes with before settling on the sleeve of her shirt. 

“I’ll be out in a minute!” She calls. 

It’s not enough to dissuade him. 

“Are you okay?” he asks after a short pause. “Rey, please, let me in.” 

She answers the door with a forced smile on her face. 

“I’m perfectly fine. I’m just getting ready.” 

He looks at her for a moment; studying her face seriously. “You’ve been crying.” 

“No,” she shakes her head as she answers with the first excuse that comes to mind. “You caught me in the middle of washing my face.” 

It’s a lie. He knows it’s a lie and she knows he knows it’s a lie. 

Thankfully he doesn’t call her on it. 

“If you're sure,” he answers, giving her a skeptical look. “Poe told me you wanted to know when all the speakers were installed. We just finished.” 

Rey grins for real this time.

“Perfect. Let me finish up and I’ll come downstairs and check everything out,” she replies. “Thank you so much, Ben.” 

Before he can talk again, she shuts the door and locks it again. 

She hopes he’ll buy the excuse that she was panicking over the tour. 

  
  
  


Stepping into the bathroom she washes her face for real, splashing the cool water over her eyes in an attempt to relieve their swollen appearance. She catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror as she reaches for the hand towel hanging on the ring beside her and nods at herself as she fixes a determined look on her face. 

“Worry about it after this is over,” she tells herself firmly. 

The tour starts with a steady trickle of guests, mostly older couples who make polite comments on the decor and tell her stories about how they’ve been attending the tours for _years._ From where she stands in the entryway, she can watch everyone as they explore the living areas before making their way upstairs. Their friendly smiles and excited conversation slowly chipping away at her nerves.

“There you are.” 

Ben approaches her midway through the evening, accompanied by a middle-aged couple. 

“I’ve been here all night,” she teases. 

He gives her an exasperated smile before kissing her on the side of the head. 

“Rey, I’d like you to meet my boss Cassian Andor and his wife Jyn Erso. Jyn is the coordinator for the tour this year,” he says as he introduces them. “This is my fiancée, Rey Jackson, she’s responsible for finally furnishing the place and the decorations for the tour.” 

Jyn reaches out first and takes her hand. “It’s so nice to finally put a face to a name,” she says with a grin. “Had I known Ben was engaged, let alone to such a talented decorator, I would have started bugging him about participating earlier.” 

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Rey replies as she shakes Cassian’s hand. 

“I’m so impressed by the work you’ve done,” Jyn continues. “Would it be alright if I listed you as a preferred decorator in our information for next year’s event? We are still narrowing down our choices for the featured neighborhood, but I’d love to see what you did with another home.” 

“That would be incredible,” Rey grins. “Thank you so much.” 

“Of course,” Jyn replies. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I believe I spied a hot cocoa bar that has my name all over it.” 

“Speaking of sweets. If you get a chance, stopover at the Djarin residence two houses down. Their son is a little baking Jedi and made the most incredible Macarons,” Cassian adds with a smile as he gives Ben a pat on the back. “See you in the office, Sunday, Solo.” 

Rey watches as Jyn and Cassian disappear into the crowd surrounding the kitchen before turning towards Ben. 

“That went well.”

“You’ll be set decorating for tours for life now,” he agrees. “It’s always a good thing to be one of Jyn Erso’s favorites. You deserve it, sweetheart.” 

She blushes and shrugs. “Well, there’s still Lando to worry about.” 

“Hey.” His arm wraps around her shoulders and he pulls her into his side. “None of that. He’s going to love what you’ve done. I’m positive.” 

“I admire your optimism,” she grumbles before releasing a long sigh and leaning into his embrace. “I’ll try not to get too worked up before he gets here, I promise.” 

Ben grins and drops another kiss to her temple. “That’s all I ask.” 

“Hey, Ben?” she asks quietly after a moment. 

He steps away and looks down at her with concern. “What’s up?” 

A smile spreads across her lips. “Do you want to sneak over and grab me a macaron?” 

Lando finally arrives at the very end of the tour, entering quietly and acknowledging Rey with a simple nod before heading into the adjacent dining room. She watches nervously as he takes in the room before heading for the kitchen and living room. 

When he disappears upstairs, Rey scans the area for Ben and finds him in the kitchen with Leia and Amilyn.

“I know, I saw him,” Ben smiles as she approaches. “Breathe.” 

“Did he say anything?” she asks. 

He shakes his head. “Not to me, he said hello to my mother briefly though.” 

Rey nervously bites her lip. “Did he seem impressed?” 

“He seemed like Lando when he’s focused,” Leia chimes in from the other side of the island. “But if he’s even half as impressed as everyone else has been, he’s going to love it.” 

She nods and smiles, letting the uneasiness in her stomach settle. “I’m sorry, I’m just really nervous,” she adds. 

“And we all understand,” Amilyn assures her. 

“Where is everyone else?” Rey looks around the room. As the evening nears the end of the tour, fewer and fewer visitors have been arriving at the house and the living area is nearly empty. 

“Han and the other young folks are outside, not so subtly spiking their hot cocoa with whatever liquor Poe snuck in his flask,” Leia grins mischievously.

Rey rolls her eyes and grins in return. “Of course they are,” she replies. “Tell them to save me an extra-strong cup, I’m going back to the entryway.” 

“I’ll come with you,” Ben adds.

Lando is walking downstairs when they enter the entry and smiles as soon as he sees them. 

“Just the couple I was hoping to find,” he greets them with his booming voice. “Solo, your house looks amazing. Rey, you’ve truly outdone yourself.” 

She has to stop herself from making an unflattering noise of excitement. “I’m so glad you think so, Mr. Calrissian.” 

Ben reaches for her hand, taking it in his own and squeezing gently. 

“Please, call me Lando. I think it’s safe to say that your talents would be a wonderful addition to our company,” Lando continues with a smile. “If you’re still interested that is.” 

Rey grins and starts to reply when a disgusted snort comes from behind her. Turning around, she finds Armitage standing in the entryway with a sneer on his face. 

“Are you serious,” he blurts out before turning to Lando. “ _This_ is what you go for? It looks like a middle-aged soccer mom’s Pinterest board threw up everywhere.” 

“How nice of you to stop by, Armitage,” Rey says through gritted teeth. “Don’t you have your own tour to be hosting?” 

“I wasn’t going to miss this,” he replies. “Obviously I misjudged what the _experts_ view as tasteful, however.”

Lando straightens up and takes a step towards him. “Your designs were well done, they’re just too modern for what I prefer. Now, if you don’t have another reason to be here, I believe it would be best to return to your own house.” 

Armitage lets out another huff and spins on his heel before walking out the front door. 

“Thank you,” Rey sighs. “I used to work for him, he’s insufferable. He fired me when I agreed to decorate Ben’s house because I was his competition.” 

Lando lets out a bark of laughter. “It sounds like he did you a favor. I promise you’ll have a much better time working on my team. All of my stagers also do side decorating jobs for my past clients, you’ll have plenty of opportunities.” 

“I’m looking forward to it,” she replies honestly. 

“And I’m looking forward to getting this gorgeous home on the market,” Lando adds. “Were you still planning on listing in January, Ben?”

He nods. “If that works for you.” 

“Absolutely,” Lando grins. “I’ll be in contact with you after the New Year, sound good?” 

“Sounds perfect.” 

“This is for you,” Kaydel smiles as she brings Rey a mug topped with whipped cream shortly after the last guest has left. “Extra Bailey’s, as requested.” 

Taking the mug, she brings it to her lips and takes a sip nearly sputtering on the strength of the beverage. “Is there even hot cocoa in this? Or did you just heat up straight Bailey’s?” 

“Poe made it, so it’s possibly the latter,” Kaydel laughs. 

Rey wouldn’t put it past him and rolls her eyes playfully. “It’s definitely the latter.” 

“I heard about your job offer, that’s incredible Rey,” she adds after a moment. “If it's alright with you guys, Poe and I would love to take you to dinner on Monday evening. It’s not a big deal if you aren’t ready yet, but we would love to celebrate your engagement and your new job.” 

Rey takes another sip of her drink and nods. “I think I’d like that, I’ll talk to Ben.”

“Of course,” Kaydel grins. “Text me when you know and we’ll set something up.”

*

“So, we’re sticking with the plan to stage a fight over dinner?” Ben confirms as they walk across the tiled floor of the entrance to the office building. The restaurant where they are meeting Poe and Kaydel is located on the 21st floor overlooking the city. 

“Yep,” she answers, her firm voice hiding the uneasiness she feels underneath. 

He lets out a sigh and runs his hand through his hair. “Did we ever decide on _what_ we’re supposed to be fighting over?” 

Rey bites her lip nervously. They hadn’t gotten that far in any of their discussions. 

“I’ll figure it out, just follow my lead.” 

“If you say so,” he replies hesitantly.

Reaching for the up button, she stabs it with a little too much force. “This isn’t a big deal. It’s not like our friendship is ending, you still have to put up with me while I make you help take down the holiday decor so I can finish staging your house.” 

Ben lets out a small laugh at that as the doors to the elevator open. “Good point.” 

They ride up in awkward silence until the doors open again and they walk out into the lobby of the restaurant and approach the hostess desk. A pair of young women standing behind the marble top counter greet them with bright smiles. 

“Welcome to Daniel’s Broiler, did you have a reservation to dine with us this evening?” the woman on the left asks. 

“We’re here with Poe and Kaydel Dameron,” Rey answers. 

The other hostess claps her hands together excitedly. “Of course! They told us to expect you. Follow me, I’ll take you to them.” 

“Have a wonderful dinner!” The first woman calls after them as they follow her coworker down a hallway off the side of the entrance. 

Passing by the dining area, Rey turns to Ben and gives him a perplexed look as the hostess stops in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. 

“Right through here,” she smiles as she pulls the handle. 

The sound of murmured conversation over the faint strains of instrumental holiday music fills the air as they step into the room. At first glance, it looks like a separate dining area, until she notices the lounge-like setting and a few familiar faces. Before she puts it all together the crowd around them erupts into a loud cheer. 

“Surprise!” 

It’s then that she sees the large banner hanging above the bar. _Congratulations Ben and Rey!_

Kaydel is front and center, standing between Poe and Amilyn beaming widely and holding up two glasses of champagne. 

“You didn’t think we’d let you two get away without having an engagement party, did you?” she grins as she hands them each a flute. 

Her mouth opens and closes in shock as she glances around the room. Han and Leia are chatting with Lando by the bar, Rose and Finn are there, as are Cassian and Jyn, and several others she doesn’t recognize. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am,” she finally admits with a smile. “This is too much.” 

“Nonsense,” Kaydel argues. “You two deserve to be celebrated!” 

“Let me take your coats,” Amilyn walks up beside Kaydel. “There are appetizers on the bar, dinner will be served shortly.” 

She knows she and Ben need to talk, but they are both pulled in different directions as their friends and family are eager to greet them. Seeking out Rose, she pulls her into a quiet corner. 

“I know, I should have told you,” Rose begins. “Kaydel sprung the plans on us last minute and I wasn’t sure if you and Ben were ending the charade anytime soon. Or at all.” 

“What do you mean _or at all?_ ” Rey furrows her brow. 

Rose shakes her head in exasperation. “Oh come on, Rey, when are you two going to quit pretending that this engagement is only for pretend? The two of you are so far gone for each other.” 

“No, we aren’t,” Rey argues weakly. “We were going to stage a fight in front of Poe and Kaydel tonight and announce our break up tomorrow.” 

“You’re serious? Christmas is in a few days!” 

“That’s exactly why I wanted to do it now, I didn’t want to keep the lie going through the holidays. It isn’t fair.” 

Rose gives her a knowing look. “So this is what you want to do? What about Ben?” 

“It’s what we want to do,” she clarifies. 

Rey isn’t sure who she is trying to convince more at that point - Rose, or herself. 

“Well, it looks like your plans might have to change unless you are still going to -“ Rose pauses and groans. “Oh no. Please tell me that you’re not going to stage a fight at your engagement party? Rey!” 

“Fake engagement,” Rey reminds her. “Besides, what better way to let everyone know things are over? Saves us the trouble of spreading the word around.” 

Rose rolls her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she tells her. “And for the record, I think you’re making a huge mistake.” 

“Keeping this charade going for any longer would be a mistake,” she answers softly. “I need to go find Ben.” 

He’s chatting with a man she doesn't recognize on the other side of the room when she finally finds him. It had taken her a good twenty minutes to make her way back across the room, having been stopped by nearly everyone there to offer their congratulations not only on the engagement but also on her success with the tour and her new job working for Lando. 

“Rey, this is my coworker, Tai,” he introduces her to the man beside him.

“Rey,” Tai greets her with a smile and a firm handshake. “A pleasure, I’ve heard wonderful things about you.” 

She plasters on a hopefully convincing fake smile. “You as well,” she replies kindly, even though Ben had never mentioned him to her before. “Can I borrow my fiancé for a moment?” 

“Of course, I need a refill on my drink anyway,” Tai grins as he holds up the nearly empty highball glass. “See you two love birds around.” 

  
  


She drags him to another corner of the lounge. 

“So this puts a little damper in our plans,” she sighs. “I was thinking we should -“ 

“I think we should keep things as they are for tonight,” he interrupts her. 

Rey frowns. “Ben, we can’t keep dragging this out. It’s not fair to everyone.” 

_It’s not fair to me, or you._

“It’s our engagement party, Rey,” he sighs. “I just don’t think this is the time or place.” 

“It’s the best time and place,” she answers firmly. 

Ben looks at her for a moment and lets out a deep breath. “If that’s what you want.” 

“It is.” 

She knows she’s being unreasonably stubborn and that both Ben and Rose have a point, but if they don’t end things tonight it’s only going to hurt them more by dragging it out. 

“What are you two doing over here?” Kaydel appears out of nowhere with a mischievous smile on her face. “I know you two are ridiculously in love, but you’re not allowed to make out in the corner. It’s almost time for dinner!” 

Her face falls a bit when Rey turns to look at her. 

“Rey? Is everything alright?” 

Might as well get this over with now, she decides. 

“I don’t know,” she looks over her shoulder at Ben. “I don’t know if this is going to work out.” 

Kaydel looks stunned. 

“Rey, don’t do this,” Ben pleads softly. 

Rey spins around to face him. “Don’t do what? We can’t keep disagreeing like this.” 

Brushing past Kaydel she makes her way back into the crowd. There. That should get things started. 

What she doesn’t expect is for Ben to chase after her. His hand grabs her arm gently, urging her to stop as he turns her around. 

“I can’t do this anymore,” he confesses. 

She’s momentarily stunned before reminding herself that this is all an act. You can’t break up a relationship that wasn’t real. 

Except right now it feels _too_ real and her heart is in her throat. 

“So this is it?” she replies, swallowing the lump in her throat as she plays along. 

Ben shakes his head. “I can’t keep pretending, Rey,” he tells her softly. 

“And you think I can?” 

She takes a deep, shuddering breath and tries not to cry in front of him and everyone around them. 

“Rey,” he whispers as he holds out his hand. “I need the ring back.” 

She knows why she can’t keep it, but it doesn’t stop her heart from falling into her stomach as she gently slides his grandmother’s ring from her finger and places it on his outstretched palm. 

“I’ll make the announcement to everyone.” 

Tears threaten to fall as she begins to walk away. Everyone near them has gone quiet and an uncomfortable silence fills the room as she looks around before clearing her throat. 

A hand on her shoulder stops her just as she begins to talk and she turns to find Ben behind her, on one knee, holding up the ring she’d just taken off with a smile on his face. 

“Ben? What’s going on?”

“I love you,” he confesses. “I know this didn’t start as the real deal, but it didn’t take long for me to start wishing that it was. Rey, I don’t want to pretend anymore. These past two weeks have been the best of my life and I want this forever. I want you forever, sweetheart, and everything that comes with it.” 

She’s crying now, ugly sobs, and she doesn’t care. 

“I love you too,” she replies. “So much.” 

“Well that’s a good thing because I’m asking you for real this time,” he grins. “Is that alright?” 

She nods enthusiastically, wiping her eyes as she smiles. 

He smiles widely in return. “Rey Jackson, will you marry me?” 

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes, a _million_ times yes.

  
  


The words rush out of her and she’s in his arms a moment later. Ben slides the ring back on her finger and kisses her softly, brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as she melts into his embrace. 

“I think we’ve confused a lot of people,” he murmurs against her lips. 

Rey pulls away from Ben and turns to face a crowd of confused faces and one grinning Rose Tico. 

“I suppose we owe them an explanation,” she laughs. 

“Will you come home with me tonight?” Ben asks as they pull out of the parking garage after the party has ended. The rest of the evening had gone perfectly once everyone had recovered from the shock over their no longer fake engagement. 

“To your apartment?” she questions. 

“No. To _our_ home,” he replies with a grin. “I told Lando earlier that I’m no longer planning to sell.” 

Rey’s eyes widen at the implication of her words. “You mean?” 

“I want to live there with you. I want to raise a family when you are ready and grow old together,” he smiles. “You’ve made it our home, Rey, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Lando is going to help me sell the penthouse instead.” 

A wide grin spreads across her face and she nods before pulling his face to hers and capturing his lips in another kiss.

**

They barely make it inside the front door before he gathers her into a bridal carry and makes his way upstairs and down the hallway to his bedroom. _Their_ bedroom. 

“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” he growls in her ear before nipping playfully on the outer shell. “It’s been torture these past two weeks thinking of you sleeping here, in this bed, all by yourself.” 

Rey moans as his lips work their way along her jaw

“Did you touch yourself on these sheets?” 

She nods as he sets her onto the floor beside the bed. 

They shed their clothes wordlessly, her little black dress joining his dress shirt and slacks on the floor. She loves the way he looks over her lace-clad body with an intense appreciation, taking in her subtle curves complimented by the delicate burgundy undergarments she’s wearing. 

“You’re perfect.” His voice is hoarse as he presses another kiss to her lips. “I’m going to worship you tonight, sweetheart. Every inch of you.” 

A shiver runs through her body as he nips delicately at the flesh beneath her ear, his hands running slowly over her back until they find the clasp of her bra. He unhooks it with practiced ease before sliding the straps from her shoulders and letting it fall to the ground with the rest of their clothes. 

“Ben,” she whimpers as he gently brushes across her hardened nipples. 

“What do you need?” 

She arches her back towards him. “Please touch me.” 

His fingers brush across her nipples gently in teasing strokes. “Like this?”

Another whimper escapes her lips. _“_ More _.”_

He gathers her into his arms and lays her on the bed behind them before crawling over her and lowering his mouth to one of her rosy tipped peaks, taking the bud in his mouth and sucking firmly. Her hands grip the duvet cover as he swirls his tongue around the nipple as his other hand gently palms at its twin. 

“Fuck, Rey, your tits are incredible,” he growls against her chest. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.” 

When he’s finished with her breasts he trails wet kisses down her stomach, easing himself between her legs as he eases his fingers under the waistband of her lace panties. 

“Oh sweetheart, I can see how wet you are for me already,” he murmurs as he slides the garment down her legs. “Fuck, you’re dripping, aren’t you?” 

His mouth attacks her center with as much enthusiasm as he’d given her tits, licking and sucking at every inch of flesh he can find. 

“Holy shit,” she cries out as he pulls her clit between his lips while sliding a finger into her cunt. 

She can feel him chuckle against her center. “Relax, love, I need you to come for me.” 

It doesn’t take long; she’s so wound up that as soon as he curls his finger to rub at the front wall of her pussy she’s gone. Her body tenses around him, trembling and panting as she explodes. 

Ben stands and quickly removes his boxer briefs, his thick cock springing out, the mushroom head dark and dripping with drops of precum. 

“I have a condom in my wallet,” he bends over and grabs his dress pants off the floor, pulling the leather bifold from his pocket. 

“Ben, wait,” she sits up. “I’m protected and safe, we don’t need to use one if you’re okay with that too.” 

He drops the wallet to the floor and nods his head with a subtle grin. “I’m more than okay with that. Are you sure?” 

“I wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise,” she assures him and reaches for his length, wrapping her slender fingers around his girth and pumping slowly along the shaft. 

He closes his hand around her, stopping her movement. “I want you to keep going, but I’m so close and I want to come inside of you.” 

  
  


Laying back against the pillows, she watches as he positions himself over her, teasing the head of his cock through her folds until he reaches her entrance and pushes inside. Her cunt stretches around him, almost painfully, as he eases in slowly. 

“You’re so tight,” he grunts as he bottoms out. “Like you were made just for me.” 

He waits a moment, letting her adjust to his size, and then slowly pulls back before pushing forward again. A gentle rocking motion as his hips thrust against hers. The initial burn from the stretch eases with each pass and she grips at his shoulders as she rolls her hips in time with his. 

“You feel incredible,” she moans. 

The way his cock fills her, dragging against her inner walls, is like nothing she’s ever felt before. 

He picks up the pace until he’s thrusting rapidly against her. Their movements are uncoordinated and frantic as her climax begins to build again. 

“I’m so close, sweetheart. Can you come for me again?” 

She nods quickly and lifts her chest towards him. 

“I need your mouth on my tits,” she urges. 

Ben lowers his head and sucks firmly on her nipple as she reaches for clit, rubbing it in quick circles as he fucks her even faster. 

“Fuck, fuck, _Rey_.” 

Her name escapes his lips as he comes undone, coating her inner walls with his spend. Her climax is not far behind as she spasms around his pulsing cock. Ben pulls away from her breast and rests his face in the crook of her neck, breathing heaving against her sweat-soaked skin. 

“I love you,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

He wraps his arm around her back, easing her onto her side and holding her tightly in his embrace. “I love you too.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one chapter left, an epilogue that wraps everything up in a nice little holiday bow (yes these two need to talk more, it will happen, this chapter was long enough 🤣). Thanks so much for sticking with me through this story, even though it's WAY past Christmas time. 
> 
> Also, I'm not gone from Twitter forever, just taking a break for a bit. I'll be back there soon.


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